iiiiiiinniiiniilliriiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiMiHiiimiiitiliiilihWiiiiUUJiiiiliuiiiiiiiiiiii 


^  Rivepside  Literature  ben 


iish  and  ^cottL 


A 


Houghton  MrfHin  Co. 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

RIVERSIDE 


Ct)c  UiUrrsiDc  Literature  s>frif0 


ENGLISH    AND    SCOTTISH 
rOrULAll   BALLADS 


SEIiECTED   AND   EDITED    FOR    STCJDY   UNDER 
THE    SUPERVISION    OF 

WILLIAM   ALLAN   NEILSON 

Professor  of  English,  Harvard  University 

c^  BY 

R.   ADELAIDE  WITHAM 


nOUGHTON   MIFFLIN   rOMPANY 

BoftOQ  :  i  Park  Street ,  New  York  :  80  Fifth  Avenue 
Chicago;  378  388  Wabanh  Avenue 

Cbc  l^inrcsiDc  prrsa  CinibriDoc 


niid 


COPYRIGHT,    1909,    BY   HOUGHTON   MIFFLIN   COMPANY 
ALL    RIGHTS    RESERVED 


PREFACE 

The  present  volume  is  designed  to  meet  the  needs 
of  a  less  advanced  class  of  students  than  is  provided 
for  in  the  comprehensive  collections  of  the  late  Pro- 
fessor Child  or  in  the  edition  by  Kittredge  and  Sargent 
in  the  Cambridge  Poets  series.  Those  great  sources  of 
material  and  illustration  have  been  drawn  upon,  as 
was  inevitable,  with  great  freedom  ;  and  this  selection 
is  to  be  regarded  as  an  introduction  which,  it  is  hoped, 
may  allure  students  to  a  more  exhaustive  study  of 
the  subject.  With  this  end  in  view,  the  attempt  has 
been  made  to  lay  solid  foundations  for  the  understand- 
ing and  appreciation  of  ballad  poetry  by  making  the 
selection  representative,  by  refraining  from  any  tam- 
pering with  the  texts,  either  in  spelling  or  in  readings, 
and  by  supplying  abundant  references  to  works  in 
■which  the  study  of  ballads  may  be  further  pursued. 

Miss  Witham\s  Introduction  seeks  to  give  in  concise 
form  the  gist  of  the  most  recent  scholarship  concerning 
the  characteristics  and  the  origin  of  ballads.  Here  she 
is  naturally  chiefly  indebted  to  Professor  Gummere, 
especially  in  his  book  on  the  Popular  Ballad,  and  to 
Professor  Kittredge  in  the  introduction  to  his  volume 
in  the  Cambridge  Poets  series.  The  notes  show  simi' 
larly  a  free  use  of  the  introductions  by  Professoi 
Child  in  his  gi-eat  final  collection  ;  and  by  specific  re- 
ferences the  reader  is  constantly  reminded  of  the  mass 
of  variants  to  be  found  there,  a  knowledge  of  which 
is  so  essential  to  a  right  conception  of  ballad  poetry. 


iv  PREFACE 

,It  is  not  to  be  supposed,  however,  that  basing  the 
book  upon  these  fundamental  authorities  makes  it  any 
less  serviceable  to  the  reader  who  wishes  merely  to  en- 
joy. The  preservation  of  the  spelling  of  the  texts  as 
Professor  Child  prints  them  offers  but  a  slight  obstacle 
to  easy  intelligibility,  and  soon  comes  to  be  to  any  lover 
of  ballads  almost  an  essential  feature.  Modernization 
is,  moi-eover,  impossible  without  some  degree  of  falsifi- 
cation, and  no  method  at  once  consistent  and  innocuous 
has  yet  been  discovered. 

The  writing  of  the  Introduction  and  the  compiling 
of  the  Notes  and  Glossary  are  the  work  of  Miss  Witham, 
the  share  of  the  supervising  editor  having  been  confined 
to  criticism  and  advice.  Obligations  to  the  works  of 
Professors  Child,  Gummere,  and  Kittredge  have  been 
specifically  recognized  wherever  possible,  and  a  gen- 
eral acknowledgment  is  here  gratefully  rendered. 

W.  A.  Neilson. 

Cambridge,  Mass.,  January  5,  1909. 


CONTENTS 

Introduction vii 

Origin  and  Development  of  Ballads yiii 

BaUad  Stmctare  .........         xvi 

Subject-Matter  of  Ballads         .......  xxiii 

Characteristics  of  Ballads     .......        xxv 

The  Versifitjation  of  Ballads xxxiii 

Later  History  of  Ballads       .         .         .         .         .         .         .   xxxvii 

Date  of  Ballads         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .  xxxix 

The  DouctLAs  Tbagedy 1 

The  Twa  Sisters 4 

The  Cruel  Brother 7 

-EDWAR0 9 

Babylon  ;  or,  The  Bonnie  Banks  o  Fordie  .        .  11 

Hind  Horn  '      . '      . ' 13 

Lord  Thomas  and  Fair  Annet 15 

Love  Gregor '20 

Bonny  "Barbara  Allen 24 

Lamkin 25 

Young  Waters  .'       ,        .'      ."      /      ."       .        .         29 

The  Gay  Goss-Hawk 32 

The  Three  Ravens 36 

The  Twa  Corbies 37 


vi  CONTENTS 

8iR  Patrick  Spence 38 

Thomas  Rymer  and  the  Queen  of  Elfland      ...  40 

The  Wee  Wee  Man 42 

Sweet  William's  Ghost 43 

The  Wife  of  Usher's  Well 46 

Kemp  Owyne 48 

The  D^mon  Lover 50 

Hugh  of  Lincoln 52 

Young  Bicham 55 

Get  Up  and  Bar  the  Dook 58 

The  Battle  of  Ottekbdrn 60 

Chevy  Chase 66 

JoHNiE  Armstrong 75 

Captain  Car "^S 

The  Bonny  Earl  of  Murray 82 

Kinmont  Willie 83 

Bonnie  George  Campbell          .....        t  90 

The  Dowy  Houms  o  Yarrow         ......  91 

Johnie  Cock ....  93 

Robin  Hood  and  Guy  of  Gisborne      .....  97 

Robin  Hood's  Death  and  Burial 105 

Robin  Hood  Rescuing  the  Widow's  Three  Sons      .        .  108 

Notes ^^'^ 

Glossary 181 


INTRODUCTION 

Over  a  century  ago,  in  Scotland  —  the  land  where 
"  every  field  has  its  battle  and  every  rivulet  its  song  " 
—  lived  a  boy  who  loved  nothing  so  much  as  to  listen 
to  tales  of  olden  times.  Especially  he  loved  those  told 
him  in  verse.  What  he  heard  he  remembered  ;  retold 
to  his  playmates  when  they  would  listen ;  or,  lacking 
that  audience,  would  shovit  out  to  the  empty  air  for 
the  sheer  joy  of  their  sound.  His  enthusiasm  was 
no  respecter  of  persons ;  bursting  into  his  mother's 
parlor  one  day,  roaring  forth  the  lines  of  the  ballad 
Hardyknute,  he  put  to  rout  the  parish  clergyman, 
who  ended  his  call  abruptly,  exclaiming,  "  One  may 
as  well  speak  in  the  mouth  of  a  cannon  as  where  that 
child  is  !  "  A  year  or  so  later  the  same  boy  came  upon  a 
copy  of  Yercy'' s  Heliques  of  Ancient  English  Poetry. 
All  day  he  pored  over  the  precious  ballads,  under  the 
shade  of  a  huge  plane  tree,  forgetful  even  of  dinner 
until  he  was  sent  for.  In  young  manhood  "  that 
child  "  was  binding  together  for  himself  six  volumes 
of  ballads  and  folk-son^s  of  his  own  collecting. 
Over  moss  and  moor,  into  "  shepherd's  hut  or  minis- 
ter's manse,"  he  had  ridden  on  his  quest  —  an  inde- 
fatigable ballad-hunter.  No  distance  was  too  great,  no 
path  too  rough,  that  would  lead  him  to  those  who 
possessed  a  ballad  he  had  never  heard.  And  in  old 
age,  death  staring  him  in  the  face,  he  steadied  himself 
by  repeating  from  the  noble  Otterhurn :  — 

My  wound  is  deep,  I  fain  wad  sleep, 
Nae  mair  I'll  fighting  see; 


vili  INTRODUCTION 

Gae  lay  me  in  the  bracken  bush 
That  grows  on  yonder  lee. 

All  these  ballads  which  Scott  so  loved,  and  which 
he  had  gathered  together  with  the  aid  of  friends  as 
enthusiastic  as  himself  —  Leyden,  ^  Shortreed,  Heber, 
• —  he  shared  with  the  world  in  iX^a  Border  Minstrelsy. 
Among  the  congratulations  that  poured  in  upon  him 
as  soon  as  it  was  published  there  was  one  dissenting 
voice.  An  honest  old  woman  of  the  North  Countrie,^ 
who  had  sung  many  of  the  songs  for  Scott  for  the  first 
time,  moaned,  "  They  were  made  for  singing,  and  no 
for  reading ;  but  ye  ha'e  broken  the  charm  now,  an' 
they  '11  never  be  sung  mair."  To  find  just  why  she 
believed  so  despairingly  that  to  print  them  was  to  kill 
them  we  must  go  to  the  ballads  themselves. 

Origin  and  Derelopment  of  Ballads 

Let  us  read  aloud  —  since  we  have  fallen  upon  the 
evil  days  that  know  them  not  by  heart  —  any  three  or 

1  "In  this  labor,"  says  Scott,  "he  [Leyden]  was  equally  mterested 
by  friendship  for  the  editor,  and  by  his  own  patriotic  zeal  for  the  honor 
of  the  Scottish  borders ;  and  both  may  be  judged  from  the  following 
circumstance.  An  interesting  fragment  had  been  obtained  of  an 
ancient  historical  ballad  ;  but  the  remainder,  to  the  great  disturb- 
ance of  the  editor  and  his  coadjutor,  was  not  to  be  recovered.  Two 
days  afterwards,  while  the  editor  was  sitting  with  some  company 
after  dinner,  a  sound  was  heard  at  a  distance  like  that  of  the  whis- 
tling of  a  tempest  through  the  torn  rigging  of  the  vessel  which  scuds 
before  it.  The  sounds  increased  as  they  approached  more  near ;  and 
Leyden  (to  the  great  astonishment  of  such  of  the  guests  as  did  not 
know  him)  burst  into  the  room,  chanting  the  desiderated  ballad  with 
the  most  enthusiastic  gestures,  and  all  the  energy  of  what  he  used 
to  call  the  saw  tones  of  his  voice.  It  turned  out  that  he  had  walked 
between  forty  and  fifty  miles  and  back  again,  for  the  sole  purpose 
of  visiting  an  old  person  who  possessed  this  precious  remnant  of  an- 
tiquity."    Lockhart's  Scott,  i,  303. 

2  The  mother  of  James  Hogg,  the  "  Ettrick  Shepherd," 


INTRODUCTION  ix 

four,  say  Sir  Patrick  Spence^  Kemp  Ou'yne^  TJie  Tim 
Sisters,  The  Bonny  Earl  of  Murray.  At  once  the 
rise  and  faU  of  the  easy  iambic  metre  starts  in  our 
ears.  "  Come  to  Craigy's  sea  and  kiss  with  me  "  and 
"  Binnorie,  O  Binnorie,"  echo  like  musical  refrains. 
And  there  's  a  haunting  tune  in 

He  was  a  braw  gallant, 

Aud  he  rid  at  the  ring  ; 
And  the  bonny  Earl  of  Murray, 

Oh  he  might  have  been  a  king  ! 

He  was  a  braw  gallant, 

And  lie  played  at  the  ba'  ; 
And  the  bonny  Earl  of  Murray 

Was  the  flower  amang  them  a'. 

The  blunt  critic  was  right,  then,  —  the  ballads  were 
indeed  made  for  singing.  Were  they  as  truly  "  no  for 
reading  "  ?  They  are  surely  different  from  other  read- 
ing. Close  the  book,  and  their  words,  all  plain  and 
unassuming  as  they  are,  abide  with  us ;  so  do  their 
homely  epithets,  —  "  milk-white  hand,"  "  cherry  cheeks"; 
their  inevitable  rhymes,  — wine  .  .  .  mine,  me  .  .  .  sea ; 
their  simple  iterations,  —  "  late,  late  yestreen,"  "  O 
lang,  lang  may  their  ladies  sit  "  ;  and  their  oft-repeated 
lines.  Not  so  cling  the  verses  of  the  conscious  poets,  — 
Shakespeare,  or  Woixlsworth,  or  Browning.  They  are 
to  be  read  and  re-read  from  the  printed  page,  and 
could  never  have  trusted  for  life  to  our  memories. 
And  this  was  exactly  the  old  woman's  distinction.  Not 
having  been  committed,  for  genei'ations,  to  type,  — 
as  if  told  once  for  all  and  done  with, — ballads  were 
free  to  cliange,  to  alter  a  phrase,  add  a  new  episode, 
vary  a  refrain,  or  adai)t  themselves  to  new  localities 
and  events.  In  short,  ballads  lived  a  genuine  life,  sus- 


X  INTRODUCTION 

ceptible  to  growth  and  development,  like  any  other 
organism.  From  this  point  of  view,  to  print  them 
was  sure  death ;  but,  fortunately  for  us,  a  death  that 
meant  immortality.  We  may  be  forgiven,  however, 
for  wishing  an  impossible  thing  —  that  our  collec- 
tions of  ballads  to-day  could,  like  the  books  of  merry 
Lincoln,  open  themselves  and  be  "  read  without  man's 
tongue,"  that  so  we  might  catch  a  nearer  glimpse  of 
what  they  meant  to  those  who  heard  them  chanted  in 
old  ballad  days,  and  have  a  clearer  comprehension  of 
the  grief  of  Sir  Walter's  friend. 

"  Made  for  singing,  and  no  for  reading,"  brings  us 
directly  to  the  vexed  question  of  ballad  origins.  It  is 
reasonable  to  believe  that  what  clings  to  our  memo- 
ries without  great  conscious  effort  may,  perhaps 
must,  have  had  its  being  in  the  memories,  rather  than 
in  the  conscious  efforts  of  those,  whoever  they  may 
be,  to  whom  we  owe  these  unsigned  poems ;  and  that 
what  sings  itself  in  our  ears  must  have  had  its  birth 
in  song.  We  may  venture,  then,  a  proposition  to  be 
proved  as  we  go  on,  —  that  a  ballad  is  a  tale  telling 
itself  in  song.^  A  tale,  meaning  that  in  all  ballads 
the  narrative  element  persists  from  beginning  to  end ; 
telling  itself,  in  the  sense  that  there  is  no  revelation 
of  an  individual  author  in  the  lines ;  in  song,  in  that 
the  singing  quality  of  the  verse  impresses  us  at  once 
as  its  life  and  soul.  The  first  and  third  terms  of  our 
proposition  are  self-evident  from  the  reading  of  even 
four  ballads ;  it  is  the  second  term  that  demands  dis- 
cussion. 

A  tale  telling  itself  is  too  shadowy  a  concejjtion  to 

^  See  Kittredg-e,  Introduction  to  English  and  Scottish  Popular  Bal- 
lads, Cambridge  Ed.,  p.  xi. 


INTRODUCTION  xi 

be  altogether  comfortable  ;  it  needs  defining.  That  bal- 
lads are  anonymous  is  indisputable,  and  equally  clear 
is  it  that  they  do  not  belong  to  that  class  of  anony- 
mous poetry  from  which  the  author's  name  has  merely 
been  accidentally  lost,  or  wilfully  withheld.  There  is 
no  chance  of  tracing  them  by  the  internal  evidences 
of  style  to  any  individual  author.  Ballads  do  not 
sound  like  Burns,  or  Byron,  or  Kossetti,  —  they  sound 
simply  like  ballads.  He  who  sang  the  ballad  was  for 
the  moment  as  much  its  author  as  any  one  ever  can  be 
—  but  author  in  an  unusual  sense,  having  no  mind  to 
express  himself,  playing  no  part  in  his  poem,  exhibit- 
ing as  a  rule  no  feeling  at  the  events  recounted.  So 
sweepingly  is  this  true  that  one  or  two  appearances  in 
ballads  of  the  personal  pronoun  "  I,"  representing  the 
singer,  are  a  marked  dejjarture  from  the  rule. 

But  to  deny  ballads  authorship  is  not  to  deny  them 
origin.  All  the  ballads  in  this  small  volume  are  popu- 
lar in  origin.  That  is,  they  had  their  rise  among  the 
common  people,  were  a  feature  of  primitive  community 
life,  and  sung  both  in  the  household  and  in  the  village 
gathering.  Their  beginnings  carry  us  back  to  an  age 
whose  poet  could  not  write,  but  must  sing  or  recite  to 
an  audience  that  could  not  read.  The  society  of  those 
days  was  homogeneous,  having  all  interests  in  common, 
knowing  no  intellectual  divisions,  enjoying  — king  and 
peasant  —  much  the  same  diversions,  and,  above  all 
else,  delighting  in  that  singing  and  dancing  with  which 
a  whole  community  celebrated  oc(!urrences  that  touched 
them  all.  It  is  but  a  commonplace  of  history  that  such 
celebrations  actually  existed  among  primitive  folk;  and 
even  to-day  in  Africa,  South  America,  and  Australia 
may  be  found  such   dancing,  singing   throngs.   It  is 


xii  INTRODUCTION 

hard,  at  first  thought,  to  believe  that  in  these  savage 
festivals  poetry  had  its  beginnings.  But  let  us  imagine 
a  situation  that  is  typical  of  several  ballads,  —  the  mur- 
der of  wife  and  children  while  the  lord  of  the  castle  is 
away  from  home.  Suppose  messengers  coming  into  the 
midst  of  a  community  to  tell  of  the  tragedy,  and  the 
people  gathering  around  them.  The  listening  throng 
greet  their  words  with  the  motions  and  inarticulate  ex- 
clamations of  strong  excitement,  and  these  gradually, 
like  the  cheering  and  swaying  of  any  mob,  become 
rhythmical.  The  speakers,  too,  fall  into  the  swing, 
partly  because  the  influence  of  the  gesticulating  crowd 
is  upon  them,  and  partly  because  their  own  intense 
feeling  tends  to  voice  itself  in  rhythm.  They  narrate 
one  incident  after  another  until  the  tale  is  told  with 
some  completeness.  And  in  their  pauses,  for  breath 
or  for  recollecting,  the  undertone  of  the  crowd,  which 
has  been  like  a  burden  to  their  song,  rises  into  a 
chorus  or  refrain.  The  singers  use  the  simple  tradi- 
tional phrases  of  the  people  naturally,  so  their  tale  is 
easily  remembered.  Again  and  again  will  they  be 
called  upon  to  tell  it,  and  again  and  again  will  the 
people,  for  they  cannot  help  learning  it,  sing  it  for 
themselves.  Modifications  and  additions  will  be  made 
as  time  goes  on,  —  perhaps  a  bit  of  the  family  history 
of  the  principal  actors  now  become  significant,  or  an 
incident  of  the  tragedy  itself  discovered  later,  and 
supplied  by  some  one  in  the  throng.  The  tale  is  never 
done  so  long  as  the  folk  sing  it;  it  is  ever  in  the 
mahing  and  the  makers  are  the  people.  The  next  step 
in  development  would  be  that  he  who  was  most  skilful 
in  fashioning  or  adding  to  the  song  —  one  of  the  first 
messengers  possibly,  but  some  one  else  in  the  throng 


INTRODUCTION  xiii 

just  as  likelv  —  would  receive  the  special  approval  of 
the  listening  people.  As  they  realized  his  genius  they 
would  doubtless  hang  on  his  narrative  in  silence,  and 
join  in  only  on  the  refrain.  His  version  then  would  be 
the  one  most  generally  remembered.  And  yet  he  would 
never  think  of  claiming  it  as  his  own  individual  pro- 
duction; he  and  the  people  both  are  its  authors,^  uncon- 
scious authors,  and  the  career  of  the  song  instead  of 
being  finished  is  just  beginning.  At  a  later  period  we 
should  find  the  people  giving  more  and  more  promi- 
nence to  the  single  singer.  Then  would  come  the  temp- 
tation to  the  minstrel,  thus  admired  and  courted,  to 
make  his  singing  a  profession,  to  draw  not  only  upon 
traditional  stuff,  but  to  improvise  for  himself,  using  old 
phrases  and  idioms,  but  juggling  and  inventing  incidents 
at  will.  And  this  step  brings  us  to  a  class  of  ready-made 
ballads,  of  wliich  we  shall  need  to  speak  again,  but 
which  are  quite  different  from  the  traditional  material 
with  which  we  are  now  concerned.  The  significant  point 
throughout  the  whole  process  —  and  it  is  not  a  fanci- 
ful one  —  is  that  the  people  and  the  minstrel  together 
stand  for  our  modern  author,  and  oral  tradition  for 
our  printed  book. 

This  is  the  only  kind  of  authorship  which  can  be 
recognized  for  the  popular  ballad."  It  is  a  composite 
of  two  parts,  mutually  dependent :  first,  an  initial  act 
of  composition  at  a  given  time  by  one  person  ;  second, 
a  subsequent  process  of  collective  authorship.  The  pro- 

'  See  Kittredge,  Introduction  to  English  and  Scottish  Popular  Bal- 
lads, Carabridfje  Ed.,  p.  xxv,  for  a  concrete  example  of  the  way  in 
■which  minstrel  and  people  worked  tofjether. 

2  A  rpasonable  working  out  of  this  theory  in  detail  was  first  accom- 
plished by  Professor  Gummere.  See  The  Beginnings  of  Poetry  (Mac- 
millan)  and  The  Popular  Ballad  (Houghton  Mifflin  Company). 


xlv  INTRODUCTION 

portion  contributed  by  each  may  vary  with  every  bal- 
lad. The  peculiar  position  of  the  one,  however,  must  be 
clearly  understood,  neither  over-  nor  under-estimated. 
His  theme  is  not  a  private  one  but  belongs  to  the  folk ; 
he  uses  not  his  own  carefully  sought  expressions,  but 
the  familiar  phraseology  of  t\\efolk  ;  and  the  listening 
presence  of  the  folk  is  the  force  that  moulds  the 
manner,  and  sometimes,  although  to  a  less  degree,  the 
matter,  of  his  song.  It  is  a  far  cry  from  him  to  Shel- 
ley's poet, 

hidden 

In  the  light  of  thought, 

Singing  hymns  unbidden, 

that  are  a  part  of  his  own  being  but  may  or  may  not 
find  other  listeners. 

This  theory  of  composite  authorship  seems  as  near 
as  we  can  ever  come  reasonably  to  the  conception  of  a 
tale  telling  itself.  Recognizing,  as  it  does,  both  the 
minstrel  and  the  people,  it  saves  us  from  the  haziness 
of  Grimm's  theory  which,  in  its  insistence  upon  the 
folk  as  author,  brings  us  to  the  amusing  spectacle 
of  all  the  folk  of  a  community  suddenly  pouring 
forth  upon  occasion  unpremeditated  concerted  song. 
Given  a  singing,  dancing  people  celebrating  an  event 
of  common  interest,  Grimm  says,  different  members, 
one  after  another,  would  make  up  a  stanza ;  and  the 
sum  of  these  stanzas  would  be  the  song,  so  held  in  rev- 
erence that  no  individual  reciter  would  ever  dare  to 
alter  it.  But  this  supposes  all  the  members  of  a  com- 
munity equally  gifted  in  composition,  and  does  not 
take  into  sufficient  account  the  irrepressible  one,  more 
skilful  than  all  the  others.  It  fails  where  most  social- 
istic theories  fail  —  in  being  unable  to  suppress  the 
inevitable  rise  of  the  individual. 


INTRODUCTION  xv 

Another  interesting  theory  grants  more  to  the  indi- 
vidual. It  holds  that  Grimm's  folk  did  not  always 
dance  and  ejaculate  in  rhythm  nor  demand  that  all 
tales  should  be  told  them  in  rhythm.  They  loved  just 
as  well  to  talk  over  their  exploits,  past  and  present,  in 
prose,  giving  full  circumstance,  explanation,  and  con- 
nection ;  and  then  called  at  certain  points  for  some 
good  singer  among  them  to  chant  the  episode.  Natu- 
rally the  song  would  be  remembered  long  after  the  sur- 
rounding prose  had  been  lost,  and  would  continue  to 
be  remembered  for  generations.  This  theory  would 
account  for  the  abrupt  beginnings,  the  lack  of  connec- 
tions, the  unexplained  situations,  —  aU  the  uncertain- 
ties in  the  ballads  that  give  rise  to  the  questions  who  ? 
when  ?  where  ?  why  ?  that  never  can  be  really  an- 
swered. But  it  minimizes  the  part  of  the  people  in  the 
first  making  of  the  song,  and  neglects  the  part  of  the 
singing  and  dancing  throng.' 

'  It  is  easy  to  lay  down  laws  as  to  the  ways  of  primeval  folk,  for, 
since  they  are  not  here  to  contradict  us,  our  theories  once  based  upon 
a  historical  fact  may  wax  unchecked.  But  an  incident  observed  this 
summer  (1907)  served  to  force  home  the  possibility  of  this  double 
ballad  authorship.  A  group  of  Italian  women  working  in  a  field 
near  my  liome  sang  every  morning  what  had,  to  ray  ears,  that  could 
distinguish  not  the  matter  but  the  manner  onh',  —  the  rythmic  swing, 
the  stanza,  the  refrain,  all  the  marks  of  a  popular  song.  One  among 
them  sang  the  stanzas,  and  all  joined  in  a  vociferous  chorus.  At  my 
first  hearing  a  certain  number  of  stanzas  were  sung  through  in  this 
way,  and  then  the  song  came  to  a  full  stop.  So  far  I  thought  of  it 
only  as  a  song.  But,  after  a  pause,  I  heard  the  voice  of  the  leader 
ringing  out  again,  and  saw  her  gesticulating  as  she  sang.  The  others 
stopped  their  work  to  listen  and  look,  hanging  on  every  syllable, 
laughing  louder  and  louder  as  she  reached  the  end  of  her  stanza. 
Then  came  a  "'  doubly  re-doubled  "  refrain  —  spontaneous  applause, 
without  any  doubt,  for  a  spontaneously  composed  stanza.  I  could  not 
be  sure  on  subsequent  days  that  tliis  identical  stanza  took  up  its  place 
for  good  and  all  in  the  song,  but  I  saw  a  similar  process  of  improvisa- 
tion of  new  stanzas  many  times,  and  I  judged  that  the  special  minstrel 


xvi  INTRODUCTION 

TendinjT  still  more  to  individualistic  orioins  is  a 
third  theory  that  considers  everything  about  the  bal- 
lad —  matter  and  manner  —  the  work  of  some  partic- 
ular minstrel :  and  looks  upon  the  people  as  listening 
only  at  first  and  later  repeating  what  the  minstrel 
sings.  It  would  consider  ballads  popular  as  "  popular 
songs  "  are  popular  to-day,  —  the  people  like  them, 
learn  them,  and  sing  them  freely.  It  would  grant 
that  in  the  course  of  time  the  people  would  make 
changes  ;  repetitions  and  stock  phrases  would  creep 
in,  and  direct  modification  might  occur.  This  conces- 
sion might  seem  to  bring  this  theory  into  line  with 
that  of  communal  authorship ;  but  the  difference  be- 
tween the  two  lies  in  the  emphasis  placed  upon  the 
agency  of  the  people.  The  theory  which  makes  the  in- 
dividual the  author  makes  the  contribution  of  the 
people  a  mere  accident  of  little  import ;  whereas  the 
theory  of  communal  authorship  makes  it  the  one  abso- 
lute essential  without  which  a  ballad  could  not  be  a 
ballad.  In  other  words,  the  former  looks  upon  a  bal- 
lad as  a  single  act  of  creation  ;  the  latter  believes  it 
to  be  the  end  of  a  long  process,  and  that  process  the 
only  reasonable  explanation  of  tlie  peculiar  structure, 
the  unvarying  anonymity  and  the  striking  imperson- 
ality of  the  ballads,  and  above  all,  of  the  fact  that 
ballad  making  is  to-day  a  lost  art. 

Ballad  Structure 
We  have  already  noted  that  ballads  reveal  a  likeness 
to  one  another,  and  a  difference  from  all  other  poetry. 

among  them  was  almost  daily  "  on  with  a  new  one,''  she  thus  taking 
the  lead,  the  others  instigating  and  adopting  —  the  dual  process  going 
on  in  the  twentieth  century  before  our  very  eyes  ! 


INTRODUCTION  xvii 

But  we  have  not  yet  determined  exactly  a  distinguish- 
ing trait,  the  possession  of  which  makes  a  ballad  and  the 
want  of  which  sends  a  narrative  poem  seeking  for  some 
other  classification.  To  do  this  we  must  try  various 
tests.  First,  is  this  specific  mark  the  traditional  qual- 
ity? The  answer  must  be  no  ;  because,  although  all 
ballads  are  traditional,  all  traditional  poetry  is  not 
ballads;  it  may  be  folk-song,  choral  of  labor,  funeral 
dirge,  —  various  kinds  of  verse  of  popular  origin.  Is 
the  test  the  narrative  quality  ?  Obviously,  no.  When 
we  consider  all  the  types  of  poetry  which  may  be 
classed  as  narrative,  when  we  see  (as  we  shall  later) 
that  ballads  are  not  narrative  at  its  best,  when  we 
study  out  one  of  Professor  Child's  introductions  to 
any  ballad,  —  say  that  to  The  Douglas  Tragedy^ 
stating  all  the  forms,  both  prose  and  verse,  in  which 
this  tale  has  appeared  in  European  literatures,  —  we 
are  convinced  that  the  story  is  not  the  thing.  Shall  we 
try,  then,  to  make  a  test  out  of  the  indefinable  charm 
we  felt  when  we  read  our  first  ballads,  a  charm  that 
made  us  more  conscious  of  the  way  the  story  was  told 
than  of  the  story  itself  ?  That  is,  shall  we  make  a  me- 
chanical examination  of  diction,  figures,  metre,  or, 
more  vaguely  still,  tabulate  shades  of  simplicity  and 
degrees  of  crudeness  and  set  these  up  as  a  noi-m  for 
ballads?  We  might  unearth  in  this  process  a  thou- 
sand interesting  and  illuminating  facts,  but  all  of 
them  marshalled  before  us  would  not  be  exacting  or 
exclusive  enough  to  serve  our  purpose.  Is  it  not  more 
reason ulde,  since  we  have  found  ballad  origins  and 
d(!vel()pment  peculiar  and  individual,  to  look  for  a 
distinctive,  unvarying  mark  necessitated  by  this  origin 
and  y:ro\vth  —  the  trail  of  the  making  over  them  all? 


xviii  INTRODUCTION 

Granted  that  the  ballad  was  born  of  the  throng 
and  could  not  have  been  a  ballad  without  the  throng-, 
the  supreme  test  must  be  the  evidence  of  the  throng. 
This  means,  first  of  all,  the  refrain,  an  organic  struc- 
tural part  of  all  ballads,  and  no  accidental  after- 
thought. Many  old  ballads  in  this  volume  have  no 
refrains,  it  is  true  ;  but  it  is  equally  true  that  once 
they  did  have  them.*  Ballad  structure,  as  we  have 
seen,  went  through  its  own  process  of  evolution.  As 
choral  verse  declined  and  the  single  singer  came  more 
and  more  to  the  front,  the  choral  element,  the  refrain, 
played  a  smaller  and  smaller  part.  It  might  or  it 
might  not  be  sung,  as  is  implied  in  our  modern  texts 
by  printing  it  after  the  first  verse  only.  Later  stiU, 
when  oral  tradition  yielded  to  written  records,  the 
narrative  survived,  and  the  refrain,  as  retarding  the 
story,  little  by  little  disappeared.  Scott  had  many 
a  hard  hunt  after  a  missing  refrain,  when  all  the 
stanzas  of  a  ballad  were  safe  in  his  hands.  AYhere 
the  formal  refrain  has  entirely  vanished,  however,  we 
may  catch  glimpses  of  it  still.  In  Kemp  Oicyne  the 
whole  story  seems  a  sort  of  progressive  refrain  ;  and 
in  the  still  later  Bonny  Earl  of  Murray  the  choral 
element  is  so  strong  that  we  can  easily  believe  a  for- 
mal refrain,  beginning,  perhaps,  "  O  he  was  a  braw 
gallant,"  gradually  absorbed  into  the  narrative  and 
being  strong  enough  eventually  to  dominate  it  entirely. 
In  many  ballads  it  takes,  of  course,  expert  examina- 
tion to  discover  the  traces  ;  but  the  evidence  is  always 
there. 

The  refrain  is  a  good  test,  then  ;  but  there  is  still  a 

^  Of  the  305  ballads  in  Professor  Child's  collection,  106  show  clear 
evidence  of  the  refrain. 


INTRODUCTION  xix 

better.  To  discover  this  by  simple   induction,   let  us 
examine  the  following  ballad/ 

THE   MAID   FREED   FROM   THE   GALLOWS 

"  O  good  Lord  Judge,  and  sweet  Lord  Judge, 
Peace  for  a  little  while  ! 
Methinks  I  see  my  own  father, 
Come  riding  by  the  stile. 

"Oh  father,  oh  father,  a  little  of  your  gold, 
And  likewise  of  j'our  fee  ! 
To  keep  my  body  from  yonder  grave. 
And  my  neck  from  the  gallows-tree." 

"  None  of  my  gold  now  you  shall  have. 
Nor  likewise  of  my  fee  ; 
For  I  am  come  to  see  you  hangd, 
And  hanged  you  shall  be." 

"Oh  good  Lord  Judge,  and  sweet  Lord  Judge, 
Peace  for  a  little  while  ! 
Methinks  I  see  my  own  mother. 
Come  riding  by  the  stile. 

"Oh  mother,  oh  mother,  a  little  of  your  gold. 
And  likewise  of  your  fee. 
To  keep  my  body  from  yonder  grave. 
And  my  neck  from  the  gallows-tree  ! " 

"  None  of  my  gold  now  shall  you  have. 
Nor  likewise  of  my  fee  ; 
For  I  am  come  to  see  you  hangd, 
And  hanged  you  shall  be." 

"  Oh  good  Lord  Judge,  and  sweet  Lord  Judge, 
Peace  for  a  little  while  ! 
Methinks  I  see  my  own  brother, 
Come  riding  by  the  stile. 

1  Professor  Kittredjce,  Introduction  to  English  and  Scottish  Popu- 
lar Ballads,  Canibridtfe  Ed.,  p.  xxv,  uses  another  version  of  this 
ballad  to  show  the  folk  a»  autiiur. 


XX  INTRODUCTION 

"  Ob  brother,  ob  brother,  a  little  of  your  gold, 
And  likewise  of  your  fee, 
To  keep  my  body  from  yonder  grave. 
And  my  neck  from  the  gallows-tree  !  " 

"  None  of  my  gold  now  shall  you  have, 
Nor  likewise  of  my  fee  ; 
For  I  am  come  to  see  you  bangd. 
And  hanged  you  shall  be." 

"  Oh  good  Lord  Judge,  and  sweet  Lord  Judge, 
Peace  for  a  little  while  ! 
Methinks  I  see  my  own  sister, 
Come  riding  by  the  stile. 

"  Oh  sister,  oh  sister,  a  little  of  your  gold. 
And  likewise  of  your  fee. 
To  keep  my  body  from  yonder  grave, 
And  my  neck  from  the  gallows-tree  ! " 

"  None  of  my  gold  now  shall  you  have, 
Nor  likewise  of  my  fee  ; 
For  I  am  come  to  see  you  hangd, 
And  hanged  you  shall  be." 

"  Oh  good  Lord  Judge,  and  sweet  Lord  Judge, 
Peace  for  a  little  while  ! 
Methinks  I  see  my  own  true-love. 
Come  riding  by  the  stile. 

"  Oh  true-love,  oh  true-love,  a  little  of  your  gold. 
And  likewise  of  your  fee, 
To  save  my  body  from  yonder  grave, 
And  my  neck  from  the  gallows-tree." 

"  Some  of  my  gold  now  you  shall  have. 
And  likewise  of  my  fee. 
For  I  am  come  to  see  you  saved, 
And  saved  you  shall  be." 

The  ballad  divides  itself  distinctly  into  five  parts  of 
three  stanzas  each.    The  first  stanza  in  each  part  is 


INTRODUCTION  xxi 

the  maiden's  request  from  the  judge  ;  the  second,  her 
direct  plea  to  one  of  her  family  ;  the  third,  this  rela- 
tive's answer.  Moreover,  all  the  stanzas  are  worded 
alike,  excepting  the  variation  of  ''father,"  "mother," 
"brother,"  "sister,"  "true-love," — a  verbatim  repe- 
tition that  is  almost  unbelievable.  And  yet,  with  it  all, 
the  story  moves  along  toward  a  definite  end.  But  the 
motion  is  curious.  The  action  almost  "  runs  down  "  at 
the  end  of  each  part,  then,  just  as  it  is  to  stop  alto- 
gether, the  new  word  —  "mother,"  "sister"  —  winds 
it  up  again.  If  once  we  get  this  motion  into  ourselves, 
—  as  we  get  the  motion  of  swimming  or  skating  or 
riding,  —  we  carry  about  with  us  the  best  of  ballad 
tests.  This  unusual  form  of  progression  is  known  as 
incremental  repetition  —  a  constant  repeating  with  a 
constant  addition,  a  "  lingering  and  leaping,"  to  use 
Professor  Gummere's  phrase,  and  yet  a  steady  advance 
to  the  end  of  the  story.  The  beauty  of  it  is  that  it 
gives  added  effect  to  the  climax  in  genuine  unexpect- 
edness ;  just  as  we  are  sure  no  one  will  ransom  the 
maiden,  comes  her  true-love.  In  The  Maid  Freed  from 
the  Gallovin  we  have  the  more  primitive  form  of  incre- 
mental repetition,  and  we  cannot  expect  all  ballads 
to  adhere  so  closely  to  the  bare  type.  The  development 
was,  as  we  must  always  remember,  away  from  the 
choral  toward  the  pure  narrative.  So  we  find  often  a 
sort  of  epic  introduction  to  the  ballad,  as  in  the  first 
two  stanzas  of  Bahijlon  ;  then,  in  that  case,  pure  in- 
cremental re])etiti()n  for  eleven  stanzas,  and  finally  an 
epic  conclusion  in  the  last  five  stanzas.  In  general,  the 
more  mature,  at  any  given  time,  the  stage  of  ])oetry, 
the  more  facts  we  find  and  the  less  repetition.  liut 
incremental  repetition  —  the   "  protoplasm  of    choral 


xxii  INTRODUCTION 

poetry  "  '  — yielded  place  mucli  less  quicldy  than  the 
refrain.  Often  a  straightforward  narrative  of  the  later 
fashion  admitted  a  bit  of  it,  as  in  the  ninth,  tenth, 
fourteenth,  fifteenth  stanzas  of  The  Cruel  Brother^  or 
the  second  and  third  of  The  Wife  of  Usher's  Well.  It 
shrank  often  to  the  narrow  limits  of  lines  instead  of 
stanzas,  as  in  Sir  Hugh  :  — 

And  first  came  out  the  thick,  thick  blood, 

And  syne  came  out  the  thin, 
And  syne  came  out  the  bonny  heart's  blood  ; 

There  was  nae  niair  within. 

In  this  shrunken  form  we  find  it  in  many  ballads  ;  and 
increments  consisting  of  the  same  words  and  phrases 
are  repeated  so  often  in  different  ballads  that  they  are 
known  as  commonplaces.^  For  example,  these  lines  in 
Sir  Patrick  Spence  in  which  he  reads  the  letter :  — 

The  first  line  that  Sir  Patrick  read, 

A  loud  lauch  lauched  he  ; 
The  next  line  that  Sir  Patrick  read, 

The  teir  blinded  his  ee  — 

occur  with  very  slight  variations  in  five  other  ballads, 
Johnie  Scot.,  Lord  Derwentwater,  The  Rantin Laddie, 
Lord  William,  The  Gay  Goss-Hawh.^  Ballads  loved 
the  motion,  whether  on  a  large  or  a  small  scale.  They 
would  even  change  the  details  of  a  story  to  admit  the 
increment.  In  the  popular  tale  from  which  Kemp 
Owijne  was  taken,  there  is  only  one  kiss  ;  the  ballad 
promptly  made  three  to  admit  the  incremental  repeti- 

^  See  Professor  Gnmmere,  The  Popular  Ballad,  p.  84. 

^  A  list  of  all  kinds  of  ballad  commonplaces  may  be  found  in  Child, 
V,  474,  and  the  student  will  be  interested  to  note  how  many  of  them 
run  into  the  form  of  incremental  repetition. 

^  The  Gay  Goxs-Hawk  is  in  this  volume,  p.  32  :  for  the  others,  see 
Child,  IV,  480,  117,  352,  413. 


INTRODUCTION  xxiii 

tion  of  gifts, —  the  belt,  the  ring,  and  the  wand.^  In 
the  course  of  time,  "•  unable  to  keep  its  larger  vitality, 
incremental  repetition  still  refused  to  disappear  from 
the  ballad  ;  one  may  think  of  that  pretty  myth  of 
the  dew,  burned  away  from  field  and  lawn,  but  stiU 
glistening  in  the  copses."  ^  And  since  it  always  glistens, 
even  to  the  eye  that  is  not  expert,  it  forms  for  us  the 
final,  dependable  ballad  test. 

Suhject-Matter  of  Ballads 
While  the  subject-matter  of  the  ballads  plays  but  a 
small  part  in  attempts  at  definition  and  identification, 
it  has  significance  as  a  basis  of  recognition,  and  it 
holds  a  good  share  of  the  charm  of  balladry  for  us. 
Ballads,  according  to  the  material  they  use,  fall  easily 
into  a  few  definite  hut  not  mutually  exclusive  classes. 
Professor  Child  opened  his  collection  with  riddle  bal- 
lads, of  which  Riddles  Wisely  Expounded  ^  is  an  in- 
teresting example.  These  he  follows  with  the  large 
group  concerned  with  domestic  tragedies  —  the  stock 
theme  of  the  greater  part  of  English  and  Scottish  bal- 
lads. It  runs  the  whole  gamut  of  possible  situations, 
—  the  stolen  bride,  willing  or  unwilling,  with  every 
device  for  elopement ;  the  exiled  husband  ;  the  deserted 
wife ;  quarrelling  brothers  ;  the  scheming  mother,  cruel 
stepmother,  and  jealous  mother-in-law  ;  the  faithless 
servant ;  —  any  and  every  com])lication  that  could 
produce  tragic  results.    A  third  group  are  the  coro- 

1  An  excellent  example  of  incremental  repetition  as  a  favorite  form 
in  the  telling  of  cliildieu's  stories  to-day  may  be  found  in  a  southern 
nonsense  fn\e,  Epiimliiumlas  and  his  ^4«H<i'f,  reproduced  in  Stories  to 
Tell  to  Cfiildren  by  Sara  Cone  Uryant. 

2  Trofessor  Gunimere,  The  Popular  Ballad,  p.  133. 
8  See  Child,  I,  4."^. 


xxiv  INTRODUCTION 

nachs,  songs  of  the  mourners  o£  the  dead,  like  The 
Three  Havens,  Sir  Patrick  Spence  ;  and  their  reverse, 
the  good-nights,  —  alike  in  spirit  but  opposite  in  mat- 
ter—  in  which  not  the  mourners  bvit  the  dvinjr  man 
himself  —  a  Johnie  Armstrong  or  Young  Waters  — 
speaks  the  farewell.  ''  Unfortunately,"  writes  Professor 
Gummere,!  "  there  is  no  ballad  of  the  parting  soul, 
only  that  very  effective  Lyhe-  Wahe  Dirge  .  .  .  not  a 
ballad  at  all,"  which  was  repeated,  or  sung,  at  country 
funerals  in  the  seventeenth  century.  Strictly  speak- 
ing, it  is  a  lyric,  a  folk-song,  and  not  to  be  included 
in  a  book  of  ballads ;  but  the  temptation  to  print  it 
here  is  strong,  for  three  reasons :  —  for  its  intrinsic 
beauty  ;  because  it  matches,  with  a  wonderful  delicacy, 
the  ballad  pattern  of  repetition  ;  and  because,  in  its 
absence  of  narrative,  it  shows  how  the  line  is  drawn 
between  ballads  proper  and  folk-songs  purely  lyrical. 

A  LYKE-WAKE   DIRGE 

This  ae  night,  this  ae  night, 

Every  night  and  alle; 
Fire  and  sleet,  and  candle  light, 

And  Christ  receive  thy  saule. 

When  thou  from  hence  away  art  passed, 

Every  night  and  alle  ; 
To  Whinny-niuir  thou  coniest  at  last  ; 

And  Christ  receive  thy  saule. 

If  ever  thou  gavest  hosen  and  shoon, 

Every  night  and  alle; 
Sit  thee  down  and  put  them  on; 

And  Clirist  receive  thy  saule. 

1  The  Popular  Ballad,  p.  207. 


INTRODUCTION  xxv 

If  hosen  and  sliooii  tlioii  ne'er  gavest  nana, 

Every  night  and  alle  ; 
The  whinnes  shall  prick  thee  to  the  bare  bane; 

Aud  Christ  receive  thy  saule. 

From  Whinny-muir  when  thou  mayst  pass, 

Every  night  and  alle; 
To  Brig  o'  Dread  thou  coniest  at  last; 

And  Christ  receive  thy  saule. 

From  Brig  o'  Dread  when  thou  mayst  pass, 
Every  night  and  alle;  , 

To  Purgatory  Are  thou  comest  at  last; 
Aud  Christ  receive  thy  saule. 

If  ever  thou  gavest  meat  or  drink, 

Every  night  and  alle; 
The  fire  shall  never  make  thee  shrink; 

And  Christ  receive  thy  saule. 

If  meat  or  drink  thou  never  gavest  nana, 

Every  night  and  alle; 
The  fire  will  burn  thee  to  the  bare  bane; 

And  Christ  receive  thy  saule. 

This  ae  night,  this  ae  night, 

Every  night  and  alle; 
Fire  and  sleet,  and  candle  light, 

And  Christ  receive  thy  saule. 

The  approach  to  the  other  world  in  these  coronachs  is 
also  the  appi-oach  to  the  supernatural.  One  class  of 
l)allacls  deals  with  the  stuff  of  superstition,  —  fairy 
lovers,  like  the  Elf  Queen  in  Thomas  Rymer  ;  magic 
transformations,  like  those  in  Kemp  Owyne  ;  the  re- 
turn of  the  dead,  as  in  Sweet  WiUiams  Ghost.  Still 
another  class  is  based  upon  sacred  tradition,  a  small 
group,  of    which    Hiif/h  of  Lincoln  is  one.'   A  later 

1  A  n(;wly  discovered  ballad,  genuine  without  doubt,  takinj?  its  sub- 
ject-matter from  a  lep^end  of  tlie  boyhood  of  Christ,  may  be  read  in 
Guinmore,  The  Popular  Ballad,  p.  'J2S.  Its  title  is  The  Bitter  Withy. 


xxvi  INTRODUCTION 

class  are  the  minstrel  ballads  that  treated  romantic 
themes  like  the  story  of  Young  Bicham.  There  are  a 
few  humorous  ballads,  like  Get  Up  and  Bar  the  Door; 
and  some  of  a  journalistic  order  which  were  made 
quicldy  upon  the  occurrence  of  some  event.  More  im- 
portant are  the  Border  ballads,  chronicles  told  with 
some  epic  continuity,  celebrating  the  raids  and  battles 
of  the  Borderland  between  England  and  Scotland. 
Last  we  come  to  the  greenwood  ballads,  with  outlaws 
like  Johnie  Cock  for  heroes,  and  with  Robin  Hood, 
"  the  English  ballad-singer's  joy "  as  Wordsworth 
calls  him,  as  outlaw-hero  ^:)ar  excellence.  These  groups 
as  given,  follow  a  logical,  and  approximately  a  chrono- 
logical, order ;  and  the  ballads  in  this  volume  group 
themselves  accordingly,  in  the  hope  that  the  reading 
of  them  consecutively  may  be  convincing  evidence  of 
ballad  beginnings  and  development. 

Characteristics  of  Ballads 

Besides  the  structural  essentials  of  balladry,  there 
are  many  minor  characteristics  still  to  be  touched 
upon.  The  most  obvious  is  their  concreteness  and 
objectivity,  and  their  swift  direct  movement.  If  we 
compare  Matthew  Arnold's  Sohrah  and  Rustum  with 
his  Dover  Beach^  we  are  conscious  at  once  of  the 
broad  stretch  that  lies  between  objective  and  sub- 
jective poetry.  If,  again,  we  compare  Sohrth  and 
Rustum  with  a  ballad,  say  Sir  Patrick  Sjjence,  its 
objectivity  shrinks  into  nothingness.  And  the  two  are 
not  so  far  away  from  each  other  in  matter,  either  ;  both 
present  traditional  material,  Arnold's  poem  drawing 
its  subject  faithfully  from  the  Persian  Shah  Nameh. 
The  difference  is  entirely  one  of  manner.    Sohrah  and 


INTRODUCTION  xxvii 

I^ustirm  opens  with  a  carefully  sketched  scene  —  the 
Oxus  stream  shrouded  in  fog,  the  oump  in  the  back- 
ground;  then  Sohrab  is  introduced,  and  twenty-five 
lines  are  consumed  before  the  hero  moves  or  speaks.  In 
Sir  Patrick  Spence  it  is  the  king,  his  court,  and  the. 
whole  of  his  errand  in  four  lines  I  Arnold's  scene  changes 
as  the  day  advances  ;  new  characters  are  formally  de- 
scribed and  brought  into  the  action  ;  long  conversa- 
tions are  held  for  the  sake  of  explaining  the  past, 
portraying  the  characters,  and  preparing  for  the  crisis. 
There  is  a  certain  broad  sweep  of  scene  and  events,  and 
a  leisureliness  in  the  telling  of  them.  Arnold  always 
has  his  reader  in  mind :  he  summons  him  to  come  and 
look  on  ;  he  makes  elaborate  Homeric  similes  for  his 
advantage ;  he  means  to  rouse  his  emotions ;  and  the 
verses,  graceful,  strong,  rich,  tread  the  majestic  length 
of  nine  hundred  lines !  No  such  regard  for  the  reader 
of  the  ballad.  If  he  will  come  he  must  jump  in,  medias 
res,  love  Sir  Patrick  without  ever  knowing  who  he  is, 
follow  him  to  the  bottom  of  the  sea  without  being  told 
where  he  is  going,  and  mourn  him,  with  the  Scots  ladies, 
without  ever  having  spent  more  than  three  minutes  in 
his  company!  Concreteness,  conciseness,  objectivity  at 
its  barest  —  and  yet  an  art  in  it  all  that  no  one  except 
Sir  AValter,  and  he  only  once,'  has  ever  been  able  to 
catch.  There  is  in  the  ballads  no  solicitous  autlior 
bidding  his  reader  hear,  see,  think,  feel  —  no  Shelley 
surveying  his  skylark  in  every  possible  light,  as  "  the 
poet,"  the  "high  born  maiden,"  the  "glowworm 
golden,"  the  "  rose  embowered,"  for  his  reader's  sake. 
For  the  balhul  one  flash  of  clear  white  light  is  enough 
—  and  what  that  reveals  abides  as  a  single  whole. 
^  111  Kinmont   Willie.   See  p.  83. 


xxviii  INTRODUCTION 

To  see  by  the  white  light,  however,  is  not  to  be 
blinded  by  it ;  a  series  of  pictures  thus  revealed  shows 
many  details  that  are  common  to  all  ballads.  First 
we  are  conscious  of  a  delightful  magic  that  makes  the 
,  wee  wee  man  vanish  "  clean  awa  "  in  the  twinkling 
of  an  eye  ;  that  makes  birds  talk  with  the  tongues  of 
men  ;  that  enables  an  angry  lover  to  place  one  hand 
upon  the  topmast  of  his  ship  and  one  knee  at  the  fore- 
mast and  break  the  craft  in  two ;  that  changes  a  man 
to  esk,  to  adder,  to  bear,  to  lion,  to  red-hot  iron,  to 
burning  gleed,  and  then  by  a  plunge  into  cold  water 
bi-ings  him  back  again  to  human  shape.  And  all  this 
without  apology  or  preparation  —  the  reader  may  like 
it  or  leave  it. 

Genuine  superstition  is  also  revealed  in  the  ballads. 
Bits  of  folk-lore  appear  in  Spence's  sailor's  belief  in  the 
sign  of  the  "  new  moone  in  the  auld  moone's  arm  "  ; 
in  the  straking  of  troth  u])on  the  wand  in  Siveet  Wil- 
liarns  Ghost ;  in  the  conceptions  of  hell  as  "  rivers 
of  red  blude"  in  Thomas  Itymei\  or  "mountains 
dreary  wi'  frost  and  snow"  in  The  Dcemon  Lover; 
in  the  ominous  crowing  of  the  red  cock  and  the  gray 
in  The  Wife  of  Usher  s  Well.  Dreams,  too,  are  sig- 
nificant to  ballad  folk.  Love  Gregor's  makes  his  heart 
"  right  wae  "  ;  Robin  Hood  is  plainly  troubled  by  his 
before  he  meets  Sir  Guy,  and  all  Little  John's  com- 
forting does  not  reassure  him  ;  Lord  Hamleton  sees  a 
vision  of  his  hall  on  fire  and  his  lady  slain  ;  and  we 
ourselves  cannot  escape  the  subtle  power  of  the  dreary 
dream  of  Douglas  "  beyond  the  Isle  o  Skye." 

Another  minor  characteristic  is  the  use  of  certain 
mystical  numbers.  Three  is  the  favorite.  Incremental 
repetition  almost   invariably  advances   by  threes ;   in 


INTRODUCTION  xxix 

Bahyloyi  three  sisters  are  in  turn  taken  by  the  hand 
and  made  to  stand ;  Hind  Horn  makes  three  requests 
of  the  old  man,  for  his  "  begging-  coat,"  his  "  beggar's 
rung,"  and  his  "  wig  o'  hair  "  ;  Lord  Thomas  asks  the 
advice  of  three  —  mother,  brother,  and  sister;  and 
Lady  Weary  begs  the  nurse  three  times  to  still  her 
child  with  three  different  playthings  before  she  goes 
do^^^a  to  her  death.  There  are  also  multiples  of  three, 
as  in  the  six  questions  asked  by  the  Lass  of  Koch 
Royal  at  the  beginning  of  the  ballad,  in  the  nine 
men  who  lie  in  wait  for  the  hero  of  The  Doioy 
Houms  o  Yarrow.  Choices  among  three  often  offer 
themselves.  Love  Gregor's  mother  calls  his  sweet- 
heart "  witch,'"  "warlock,*'  or  "  mermaid'*;  Margaret 
asks  the  ghost  at  her  door  if  he  is  "  father  Philip  " 
or  "  brother  John  "  or  "  truelove  AVilly,"  and  begs 
for  room  at  William's  "  head  "  or  "  feet  "  or  by  his 
"  side  "  where  she  may  creep  and  die.  Climaxes  climb 
up  by  threes,  as  in  the  "' haw^k,"  "hovmd,"  and 
"father"  of  Edward;  and  there  are  simple  gToup- 
iugs  of  threes  at  every  turn,  —  the  three  sisters  of 
The  Cruel  Brother,  the  three  squires  of  Robin 
Hood,  the  three  guineas  given  as  bribe  to  young 
Bicham's  porter,  and  the  three  triumphant  skips  of  the 
gud(3  wife  because  the  goodman  must  up  and  bar  the 
door  I  Its  most  suri)rising  use  is  where  things  are  cut 
"  in  three  "  or  hearts  "  break  in  three."  The  number 
five  occurs  often.  "  Fingers  five,  get  up  belive,"  says 
Johnie  Cock ;  "  five  letters,"  declares  the  Gay  Goss- 
hawk,  "  he  says  he  's  sent  to  you  "  ;  five  guards  are 
called  out  at  first  by  Kinmont  Willie,  and  later  all  his 
men  march  "  five  and  five."  Sevens  are  even  more 
common.   Seven  laverocks  and  seven  diamonds  are  the 


XXX  INTRODUCTION 

love  tokens  exchanged  in  Hind  Horn;  seven  years 
was  the  Dsenion  Lover  away  from  his  mistress,  and 
seven  ships  are  lier  temptation  ;  seven  years  must 
Thomas  the  Rhymer  serve  his  Queen.  It  seems  always 
the  favorite  measure  of  time,  and  a  double  significance 
is  in  Bicham's  porter  having  served  him  "  seven  years 
and  three."  Four  and  twenty  is  still  another  good  bal- 
lad number  —  "  four  and  twenty  siller  bells  "  and 
"  four  and  twenty  gay  gude  knichts  "  accompany  fair 
Annet,  and  "  four  and  twenty  bonny  boys "  play  at 
ball  with  little  Sir  Hugh. 

Equally  interesting  are  ballad  colors  —  used  almost 
entirely  in  describing  dress.  Naturally  enough  they 
are  the  simpler,  elementary  colors,  —  yellow  hair,  gowns 
green  and  blue,  cloaks  purple,  and  coats  scarlet  red. 
Robin's  men  are  always  of  "  milk-white  skin "  and 
always  dress  in  "  Lincoln  green."  Gold  is  always  red, 
silver  always  white.  The  more  precious  metal  seems 
common  as  air  and  "  skinkles "  in  everything  —  in 
combs,  rings,  chains,  bells,  shoes,  roofs,  towers,  masts  ; 
and  of  gold  and  silver  were  many  of  the  furnishings 
of  the  household,  the  trappings  of  horses,  the  weapons 
of  warriors.  But  ballad  descriptions  of  nature  do  not 
share  in  this  warmth  and  profusion.  The  sun  rises  and 
sets,  moons  shine  and  seasons  change,  merely  as  mat- 
ters of  the  almanac.  The  best  of  the  few  touches  we 
have  are  in  the  Border  and  greenwood  ballads,  where 
the  wood  folk  seem  to  take  a  little  pleasure  in  "  walk- 
ing in  the  fayre  forest "  and  in  the  fellowship  of  bird 
and  deer.  There  are  occasional  suggestions  that  we 
may  follow  if  we  choose.  Such  are  the  last  lines  of 
The  Three  Ravens,  — 


INTRODUCTION  xxxl 

On  his  white  banes,  when  they  are  bare, 
The  wind  sail  blaw  for  ever  inair, 

or  one  line  of  Love  Gregor,  — 

The  win  grew  loud,  an  the  sea  grew  rough,  — 

or  better  still,  that  splendid  stanza  of  Thomas  Rymer, 

For  forty  days  and  forty  nights, 

He  wode  tbro  red  blude  to  the  knee, 

And  he  saw  neither  sun  nor  moon, 
But  heard  the  roaring  of  the  sea. 

But  ballads  never  meant  to  be  suggestive, 

A  naive  ballad  fashion  is  that  of  repeating  the  same 
plots,  the  same  situations,  the  same  kind  of  characters, 
the  same  questions  and  answers,  the  same  messages, 
even  the  same  stanzas  over  and  over  again,  until  they 
become  regular  ballad  formulas,  or  commonplaces.* 
But  none  of  it  is  plagiarism,  for  all  was  common  pro- 
perty. Sometimes  the  repetition  becomes  most  amus- 
ing, as  in  the  case  of  the  overworked  "  weepen-knife  " 
which  Babylon  uses  for  stabbing  and  Johnie  Cock 
for  carving ;  or  in  the  impression  we  get  that  baUad 
mothers  were  kept  busy  making  beds  "  soft  and  nar- 
row" or  "broad  and  wide"  at  the  order  of  suffering 
sons  and  daughters ;  and  that  ballad  maidens  were 
always  doing  one  of  two  things,  "  playing  at  ball "  or 
"sewing  silken  seams."  We  come  to  a  surety  that 
when  two  lovers  are  buried,  out  of  one  will  spring  a 
briar  and  "  out  of  tother  the  rose ";  that  ships  will 
always  have  to  sail  "  a  league  but  barely  ain  "  before 
anything  happens;  and  that  suing  lovers  must  ever 
stand  at  the  door  and  "  tirl  at  the  pin."  It  would  be 
easy  play  to  make  uj)  a  ballad  phrase-book  running 
through  the  alphabet  from  "auld  beggar  man,"  "blude- 
1  See  note  2,  page  xxii. 


xssii  INTRODUCTION 

reid  wine,"  and  "  cherry  cheeks,"  all  the  way  to  "  under 
the  leaves  of  lynde,"  "  well  or  woe,"  and  "  yester  e'en." 
The  list  of  epithets  is  almost  fixed :  brides  are  always 
"  bonny  ";  ladies,  "  fair  ";  hands,  steeds,  and  faces, 
"  milk-white  ";  ships,  "  gude  ";  braes,  "  ferny  ";  strokes, 
"sair":  water,  "  wan  ";  old  men,  "silly."  Alliterative 
phrases,  survivals  of  the  days  of  initial  rhymes,  recur 
again  and  again,  ■ —  "gold  and  gear,"  "busk  and  boun," 
"kith  and  kin,"  "  dale  and  down,"  "  cheek  and  chin," 
"trusty  and  trewe."  A  few  similes  do  good  service, — 
steeds  amble  "  like  the  wind,"  beautiful  maidens 
"  shimmer  like  the  sun,"  warriors  "  fly  like  fire  about," 
and  Little  John  reminds  Robin  Hood  that  dreams  are 
swift  "  as  the  wind  that  blowes  over  a  hill."  But  fig-- 
ures  of  speech  are  rare  in  ballads. 

Finally  there  is  an  accepted  ballad  attitude  toward 
life.  Sentimentality,  cynicism,  humor,  those  quali- 
ties that  are  purely  subjective,  the  result  of  tJdnking 
rather  than  doing ^  are  conspicuously  absent.  Ballad 
people  live  to  act,  and  act  seriously.  It  is  do  or  die 
with  them — of  tenest  do  and  die.  Some  few  ballads,  like 
Hind  Horn  and  Young  Bicham,  have  the  unexpected 
happy  ending  of  classic  comedy,  unravelling  all  the 
tangles  of  the  plot.  But  parted  lovers  are  more  likely 
to  meet  the  fate  of  Lord  Thomas  and  Fair  Annet,  or 
Love  Gregor  and  the  Lass  of  Roch  Royal.  The  most 
faithful  women  are  sure  to  be  deserted,  the  bravest 
sailors  to  be  drowned,  and  the  boldest  warriors  to  be 
slain.  The  pathos  lies  always  in  the  event  itself,  for 
the  actors  utter  neither  lamentation  nor  complaint ; 
they  are  always  "  merry  men."  It  was  the  ballad  way 
to  look  upon  death  as  something  as  natural  as  life,  and, 
seeing  it  plainly  ahead,  to  go  to  meet  it.    Be  the  out- 


INTRODUCTION  xxxiii 

come  as  tragic  as  it  may,  tliere  is  no  lingering  upon  it 
when  it  is  told. 

The  Versification  of  Ballads 

Ballad  versification  is  exceedingly  simple.  The 
standard  foot  is  the  iambus  ;  stanza  and  rhyme  are 
the  two  conditions  of  ballad  form.  The  stanza  shows 
three  arrangements :  it  may  be  made  up  of  two  lines, 
each  containing  four  accents,  as  in  The  Ttoa  Sisters  ; 
or  of  four  lines  of  four  accents  (which,  when  the  rhyme 
is  alternate,  may  be  readily  resolved  into  two  stanzas 
of  the  first  form)  as  in  The  Wee  Wee  JIan  ;  or  of  four 
lines,  as  in  The  Douglas  Tragedy,  where  the  first  and 
third  have  four  accents  and  the  second  and  fourth  but 
three.  This  last  form  is  what  is  commonly  Ijnown  as 
ballad  metre ;  and  it  will  be  readily  recognized  as  the 
one  adopted  by  a  large  proportion  of  English  narra- 
tive poems.  There  are,  of  course,  some  variations  from 
the  type.  We  find  some  six-line  stanzas,  as  in  Ottcr- 
hurn,  Johnie  Code,  Hugh  of  Lincoln,  and  others, 
where  the  two  extra  lines  seem  an  unavoidable  over- 
flow of  the  matter  beyond  the  measure.  And  occasion- 
ally the  identity  of  the  four  lines  may  be  obscured  by 
repetition,  as  in  Edward,  or  The  Three  Ravens  —  but 
brush  away  the  additions  and  the  typical  stanza  is 
there  as  foundation. 

Rhyme  in  the  regular  stanza  comes  in  the  second 
and  fourth  lines.  Once  in  a  while  the  first  and  third 
rhyme  as  well,  as  :  — 

When  lie  liad  eaten  .iiid  drunk  liis  fill, 
"  Lay  down  your  head  upon  my  knee  " 

The  lady  sayd,  "  Ero  we  el i nib  yon  hill, 
And  I  will  show  vou  fairlies  three." 


xxxiv  INTRODUCTION 

Less  frequently  we  find  rhyme  within  the  line,  — 
For  the  wine  so  red,  and  the  well-broken  bread. 

And  occasionally  occurs  identical  rhyme,  —  the  rhym- 
ing o£  a  word  with  itself,  evidently,  as  with  Chaucer, 
considered    normal,  —  as   in   The     Wife    of   Usher  s 

Well :  — 

"  Blow  up  the  fire,  my  maidens, 
Bring  water  from  the  well  ; 
For  a'  my  house  shall  feast  this  night, 
Since  my  three  sons  are  well." 

In  many  cases  there  is  utter  neglect  of  rhyme,  as  in 
this  stanza  from  Hind  Horn,  — 

"  Will  ye  lend  me  your  begging  coat  ? 
And  I  '11  lend  you  my  scarlet  cloak," 

where  the  assonance  in  "cloak"  and  "coat"  seems  to 
be  expected  to  do  full  duty.  Often  the  same  service 
is  performed  by  alliteration;  and  a  peculiar  ballad 
use  of  alliteration  is  to  connect  consecutive  lines.  So 
in  Ca])tain  Car  we  find  the  I  doing  this. 

The  ladie  she  lend  on  her  castle-wall. 
She  loked  up  and  downe. 

Remembering  that  ballads  were  never  set  down  and 
rigidly  scanned  by  an  anxious  author,  and  the  only 
requisite  was  that  they  should  sound  right,  we  should 
not  be  annoyed  by  what  our  eyes  may  see  in  the  way 
of  irregidarities,  but  trust  to  our  ears  —  rather  more 
than  in  other  forms  of  poetry — to  smooth  the  verse. 
Syllables  must  often  be  slurred  over  to  keep  the 
number  of  accents  in  a  line  within  the  limit:  there 
is  no  other  way  to  right  this  stanza  of  The  Cruel 
Brother,  — 

Ride  sdftly  (Sn,  says  the  bdst  young  mdn. 

For  I  think  our  bdnny  brfde  looks  pdle  and  wdn. 


INTRODUCTION  xxxv 

"  For  I  think  oui"  "  was  doubtless  a  careless  addition 
at  some  time  to  a  line  that  was  perfectly  clear  if  be- 
ginning with  "  our."  Conversely  a  line  from  which  a 
syllable  has  perhaps  been  lost  must  often  be  lengthened 
by  the  device  familiar  enough  in  reading  Shakespeare 
—  of  resolving  one  syllable  into  two  ;  and  final  e  or  ed^ 
and  the  possessive  's,  must  frequently  be  pronounced 
as  a  separate  syllable,  — 

It  befel  at  Mart^Mimas 

When  wether  waxed  cold, 
and 

When  he  came  to  the  king'g  gate, 

He  sought  a  drink  for  Hind  Horn's  sake. 

In  some  cases,  however,  no  amount  of  slurring  will 
smooth  the  metre  to  our  entire  satisfaction  :  — 

"  Thou  shalt  have  no  parson,  tliou  traj'tor  strong, 
For  thv  eiglit  score  men  nor  thee; 
For  to-morrow  morning  by  ten  of  the  clock, 

Both  thou  and  them  shall  hang  on  the  gallows-tree." 

The  general  iambic  movement,  too,  is  often  varietl. 
Trochees  often  occur,  especially  at  the  beginning  of  a 
line  :  — 

Busk  yea,  boune  yee,  my  merry  men  all. 

In  BoirnieGeorge  CaMjibdl  we  get  an  unusual  dactylic 
effect  throughout ;  and  in  The  Bonny  Earl  of  Murray 
a  wholly  individual  three-accent  line,  with  frequent 
use  of  the  slow  anapest.  But  it  is  always  to  be  remem- 
bered that  whatever  singing '  could  do  in  olden 
days  to  even  the  roughnesses  of  the  verse  —  and  they 
are  comparatively  few  —  we  should  force  our  reading 

^  A  collection  of  ballad  tunes  may  be  found  in  Child,  v,  411-424; 
there  may  one  learn  tlie  airs  of  The,  Twa  Sisters,  The  Cruel  Brother, 
Hind  Horn,  Sir  Patrick  Sjxnce,  Bonny  Barbara  Allan,  and  otlior 
old  favorites. 


xxxvi  INTRODUCTION 

to  do  in  these  latter  days,  without  fear  of  sing-song, 
for  sing-song  is,  after  all,  the  stately  metre  of  balladry. 
A  word  more  as  to  the  ballad  refrain.  Having  its 
origin  in  the  primitive  thi'ong,  we  should  expect  to 
find  its  older  forms  nothing  but  a  meaningless  series 
of  sounds  like  the  "  With  a  fal  1?J  lal ''  of  Hind  Horn 
or  the  "  downe  derrie,  derrie,  derrie,  downe,  downe  " 
of  The  Three  Havens.  A  step  toward  more  definite 
measuring  is  taken  in  Babylon,  w^here  the  "  Eh  vow 
bonnie  "  voices  the  lament,  and  '•  On  the  bonnie  banks 
o  Fordie "  names  the  place  of  the  tragedy.  Such 
place  naming,  however,  cannot  always  be  relied  on,  for 
in  one  version  of  The  Ttra  Sisters '  we  find  this  curi- 
ous combination  of  three  Scotch  cities  :  — 

There  was  twa  sisters  iu  a  bowr, 

Edinburgh,  Edinburgh. 
There  was  twa  sisters  in  a  bowr, 

Stirling  for  ay. 
There  was  twa  sisters  in  a  bowr, 
There  came  a  knight  to  be  tlieir  wooer. 

Bonny  Saint  Johnston  stands  npou  Tay. 

Sometimes  the  refrain  keys  itself  to  the  gloom  of  the 
tale,  as  in  Capita l?i  Ca r  ;  again,  in  The  Cruel  Brother, 
it  follows  the  happy  tone  of  the  beginning,  but  after 
the  bonny  bride  is  stabbed,  its  very  merriment  gives 
the  touch  of  dramatic  contrast  that  intensifies  tra- 
gedy. To  our  I'eading  eyes  the  refrain  seems  an  incum- 
brance to  the  story,  and  even  where  we  enjoy  it 
for  its  own  sake  we  hardly  have  patience  to  repeat  it 
after  every  stanza.  This  is  exactly  what  we  should  do, 
however,  if  we  are  to  know  a  ballad  as  a  hallad.- 

^  See  Notes,  p.  116. 

2  No  attempt  has  been  made  here  to  differentiate  chorus,  burden, 
and  refrain.  Briefly  the  chorus  was  sung  after  each  stanza;  the  bur- 


INTRODUCTION  xxxvii 

Later  History  of  Ballads 

We  have  said  much  of  the  origin  and  development 
of  ballads,  but  nothing  so  far  of  their  decadence. 
Plainly  enough  they  belong  to  the  vanished  past ; 
primitive  society  could  not  endure  forever.  Ballads  of 
the  purest  type,  as  we  have  seen,  were  of  the  tradi- 
tional form.  Next  came  the  day  of  the  minstrel  bal- 
lad, when  the  throng  fell  back,  and  the  minstrel 
came  to,  the  front,  affecting  little  by  little  the  lofty 
manners  of  the  aristocracy  whom  it  was  his  business 
to  entertain.  These  ballads  are  romantic  metrical  tales 
rather  than  songs  of  the  folk ;  they  sound  jjrofessional 
and  "  do  not  go,"  says  Professor  Child,  "  to  the  spin- 
ning wheel  at  all."  Later  still,  with  the  advent  of  print- 
ing—  when  the  minstrel  was  classed  with  "rogues, 
vagabonds,  and  sturdy  beggars  "  —  came  the  inferior 
broadside  ballads,  hawked  about  the  streets,  in  the 
seventeenth  century,  by  ballad-mongers  of  whom 
Shakespeare's  Autolycus  is  a  type,  and  of  whom  Hot- 
spur says,  — 

I  had  rather  be  a  kitten  and  cry  mew 

Thau  one  of  these  same  metre  balhid-moiigers. 

The  term  broadside  may  be  applied  to  two  sets  of  bal- 
lads :  those  familiar  ones  printed  for  a  penny  on  single 
large  sheets,  to  satisfy  the  public  demand ;  and  those 
actually  made  by  some  huckster,  to  be  praised,  not  for 
his  skill,  but  for  preserving  for  us  some  genuine  bits 

den  was  sun^  by  the  people  while  the  minstrel  sangf  the  stanza ;  the 
refrain  was  the  line  sung  after  certain  lines  in  everj'  stanza.  It  is  not 
possible  to  be  sure  always  —  as  the  manuscripts  were  printed  — 
whether  the  additional  choral  matter  was  used  as  chorus,  burden,  or 
refrain.  But  wliat  is  said  here  of  the  matter  and  effect  of  the  refrain 
applies  to  all  three  forms. 


xxxviii  INTRODUCTION 

here  and  there  which  might  otherwise  have  been 
totally  lost.  Broadsides  were  sometimes  collected  into 
bound  volumes  known  as  garlands,  and  so  profited  by 
a  more  enduring  form.  Many  of  the  Robin  Hood  bal- 
lads are  broadsides,  —  so  great  a  favorite  was  this 
old  hero,  —  and  the  version  of  Robin  Hood's  Death, 
printed  in  this  volume,  although  in  a  splendid  old 
strain,  was  preserved  in  a  York  garland.  At  the  same 
time  many  journalistic  ballads  were  abroad,  newspaper 
reports  in  verse,  as  it  were,  celebrating  some  current 
event,  —  conspiracy,  battle,  fire,  execution,  —  made 
hurriedly  with  all  the  marks  of  the  making  upon 
them,  and,  in  comparison  with  the  lilt  of  traditional 
songs,  nothing  but  "  hopeless  jog  trot."  These,  accord- 
ing to  our  definition,  have  not  the  slightest  claim  to 
be  called  traditional  ballads.  Finally,  like  every  good 
thing,  ballads  were  subject  to  imitation.  The  counter- 
feits were  often  made  out  of  whole  cloth,  and  often  a 
curious  blending  of  old  ballads.  But  the  manufactured 
article  was  usually  a  poor  thing,  only  the  author's 
"  own."  Scott  came  miraculously  near  the  real  thing 
in  making  over  traditional  stuff  in  Kinmont  Willie;^ 
but  Scott  was  jjosscssed  of  the  spirit  of  balladry,  was 
to  the  manner  born. 

Tlirough  this  course  of  development  ballads  have 
come  to  have  many  different  versions.  Among  them 
all,  how  is  one  to  know  the  worthiest  traditional  form? 
What  is  obviously  maniifactured  can  be  discarded  at 
once  as  chaff ;  but  even  then  there  is  a  deal  of  wheat 
left  to  be  sifted.  How  this  is  done  by  an  expert,  the 
student  may  see  by  reading  the  introduction  to  any 
ballad  in  Professor  Child's  great  collection  of  English 

^  See  Notes,  p.  165. 


INTRODUCTION  xxxix 

and  Scottish  Popular  Ballads.  There  is  printed  every 
extant  version  of  every  ballad  that  could  possibly  be 
procured,  each  with  its  own  title,  date  of  record,  and 
source.  These  texts  are  prefaced  by  a  careful  de- 
scription of  kindred  traditional  material  —  whether 
ballad,  legend,  romance,  or  folk-tale  —  in  the  litera- 
tures of  Scandinavia,  Germany,  Denmark,  Iceland, 
Italy,  Hungary,  or  any  other  country,  —  every  possi- 
ble clue  being  followed  to  its  end.  By  this  method 
of  comparison  truly  traditional  stuff  would  show  up  at 
once,  and  a  striking  detail  in  only  one  version  of  the 
ballad,  found  nowhere  else,  would  naturally  fall  under 
suspicion ;  in  general,  most  faith  would  be  placed  in 
what  occurred  oftenest.  The  criteria  of  objectivity  and 
simplicity  also  have  their  own  weight.  Then  after  an 
approximation  of  this  kind  to  the  most  genuine,  little 
can  be  said  for  giving  absolute  precedence  to  one  text 
over  another.  "  There  are  texts,  but  there  is  no  text."  ' 
In  choosing,  poetic  beauty  comes  to  its  own  ;  and  that 
version  is  the  best  for  each  of  us  that  grips  us  hardest 
and  clings  to  us  longest,  —  in  short,  that  comes  to  stay 
as  did  old  ballads  to  old  ballad  people. 

Date  of  Ballads 

How  old  "  old  ballads  "  are,  no  one  can  say.  We 
can  be  sure  that  from  the  days  when  heroic  deeds  were 
done  people  found  a  way  of  celebrating  them  in  song, 
and  handing  them  down  from  generation  to  genera- 
tion. We  can  be  equally  sure  that  a  ballad  lived  long 
before  the  date  against  it  in  the  manuscript,  that 
merely  marking  the  year  of  its  being  put  on  record. 

1  Kittredge,  Introduction  to  English  and  Scottish  Popular  Ballads, 
Cambridge  Ed.,  p.  xvii. 


xl  INTRODUCTION 

Few  ballads  are  extant  in  manuscripts  older  than  the 
seventeenth  century.  The  oldest  known  ballad  manu- 
script, that  of  Judas^  goes  as  far  back  as  the  thirteenth 
century.  Otterhurn^  The  Hunting  of  the  Cheviot,  and 
Captain  Car  date  from  about  1550.  The  Percy  MS. 
was  in  a  hand  of  about  1650.  Many  miscellanies 
and  broadsides  came  in  the  seventeenth  century,  but 
it  is  to  the  collectors  of  the  eighteenth  and  nine- 
teenth centuries  that  we  owe  the  most.  Among  these 
the  first  place  belongs  to  Bishop  Percy.  In  Shropshire 
he  accidentally  came  upon  an  old  folio  of  ballads  and 
romances  which  was  being  used,  page  by  page,  by  the 
maids  to  light  their  fires.  This  was  a  genuine  ballad 
manuscript,  and  Percy,  with  its  fragments  safe  in  his 
possession,  was  fired  with  a  zeal  to  hunt  down  other 
similar  material  and  to  press  into  the  service  all  his 
friends  and  correspondents.  Unfortunately,  in  printing 
his  results,  Bishop  Percy  altered  and  revised  at  will, 
lest  the  rudeness  and  indelicacy  of  the  noble  old  bal- 
lads might  shock  the  tender  taste  of  the  eighteenth 
century.^  Scott,  too,  organized  his  own  body  of  bal- 
lad-scouts, and  his  harvest  rests  in  the  Border  Min- 
strelsy, Scottish  Songs,  and  the  Abbotsford  MSS.^ 
Ramsay,   Herd,   Ritson,    Jamieson,    Mrs.    Brown    of 

1  See  Child,  I,  242. 

^  The  Percy  MS.  was  long  in  the  keeping  of  Bishop  Percy's  descend- 
ants, who  would  allow  no  one  to  examine  it.  Profe.ssor  Child,  in  mak- 
ing his  collection,  realized  that  he  could  do  little  without  access  to 
this  manuscript.  Dr.  Furnivall,  at  his  suggestion,  finally  induced  the 
owners  to  allow  the  full  contents  of  the  old  folio  to  be  printed.  An  edi- 
tion prepared  hy  Professor  Hales  and  Dr.  Furnivall  and  dedicated  to 
Professor  Child  was  published  in  1SG7-6S. 

3  These  also  were  discovered  in  1890  through  a  search  instigated  hy 
Professor  Child's  belief  that  Scott  possessed  much  manuscript  mate- 
rial which  he  had  never  published. 


INTRODUCTION  xli 

Falldancl,  whose  memory  was  a  storehouse  of  old 
songs,  Sharpe,  Motherwell,  Kiiiloeh,  Buchan,  and 
Aytoun,  are  all  names  to  be  remembered  with  gi*ati- 
tude  by  those  who  love  ballads.  Roughly  speaking, 
these  sources  cover  the  years  from  1750  to  1850  — 
the  century  in  which  the  spirit  of  ballad  collecting 
was  strongest.  The  collectors  have  done  all  they 
could  to  save  from  perishing  every  fragment  of  an 
English  or  Scottish  ballad  hiding  itself  away  any- 
where in  the  memories  of  men.  And  from  their 
gatherings  Professor  Child  sifted,  and  preserved  in 
his  collection,  every  versi6n  of  every  traditional  ballad 
then  known  to  exist  in  the  English  or  Scottish  tongue. 
So  through  the  ages  from  an  undated  past  to  the 
present  the  ballad  songs  of 

"  old,  unhappy,  far  off  things. 
And  battles  long  ago  " 

have  never  been  silenced.  They  have  known  all  the 
vicissitudes  of  fortune.  They  have  basked  in  sunny 
days  when  lord  and  prince  loved  them,  when  they  were 
so  much  a  code  of  right  and  wrong  to  the  people  that  it 
was  said  by  Andrew  Fletcher  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury that  "  if  a  man  were  permitted  to  make  all  the 
ballads,  he  need  not  care  who  should  make  the  laws  of 
a  nation."  They  have  endured  years  of  banishment, 
when  they  lingered  about  the  edges  of  a  kingdom  where 
elegance,  sophistication,  and  formality  sat  upon  the 
throne,  and  ballads  were  invited  to  court,  if  at  all,  as 
curiosities.  They  lived  to  be  occasionally  remembered 
later  by  a  self-complacent  literature  —  recognized  but 
patronized  like  the. poor  relations  of  the  great.  Finally 
they  have  come  again  to  tlieir  own,  and  are  loved  to- 
day with  a  genuine  love  tliat  sluill  more  and  more  pre- 


xlii  INTRODUCTION 

vail;  loved  not  in  spite  of,  but  by  reason  of,  their 
crudities  and  tlieir  grace,  their  absurdities  and  their 
common  sense,  their  childishness  and  their  worldly 
wisdom,  their  humility  and  their  dignity,  their  bru- 
tality and  their  chivalry,  —  just  those  elemental  contra- 
dictions in  their  make-up  that  endear  all  human  souls 
to  us.  They  may  in  their  awkwardness  have  broken 
"the  golden  lilies  afloat "  on  the  river  of  poetry,  and 
have  put  to  flight  the  filmy  dragon-fly.  But  they  also 
"  hacked  and  hewed  "  at  their  reeds  as  a  "  great  god 
can,"  and  brought  forth  from  their  pipes  the  piercing 
sweet  tones  for  which  many  of  the  "  true  gods  "  are 
sighing  in  vain  to-day. 


THE   DOUGLAS  TRAGEDY 

1.  "  Rise  up,  rise  up,  now,  Lord  Douglas,"  she  says, 

"  And  put  on  your  armour  so  bright, 
Let  it  never  be  said  that  a  daughter  of  thine 
Was  married  to  a  lord  under  night. 

2.  "  Rise  up,  rise  up,  my  seven  bold  sons. 

And  put  on  your  armour  so  bright. 
And  take  better  care  of  your  youngest  sister, 
For  your  eldest 's  awa  the  last  night." 

3.  He's  mounted  her  on  a  milk-white  steed, 

And  himself  on  a  dapple  grey. 
With  a  bugelet  horn  hung  down  by  his  side, 
And  lightly  they  rode  away. 

4.  Lord  William  lookit  oer  his  left  shoulder, 

To  see  what  he  could  see. 
And  there  he  spy'd  her  seven  brethren  bold, 
Come  riding  over  the  lee. 

5.  "  Light    down,  light    down.  Lady  Margret,"  he 

said. 
And  hold  my  steed  in  your  hand. 
Until  that  against  your  seven  brethren  bold, 
And  your  father  I  mak  a  stand." 

6.  She  held  his  steed  in  her  milk-white  hand, 

And  never  shed  one  tear, 


2  POPULAR   BALLADS 

Until  that  she  saw  her  seven  brethren  fa, 

And  her  father  hard  fighting,  who  lovd  her  so 
dear. 

7.  "  0  hold  your  hand.  Lord  William  !  "  she  said, 

"  For  your  strokes  they  are  wondrous  sair ; 
True  lovers  I  can  get  many  a  ane, 
But  a  father  I  can  never  get  mair." 

8.  O  she  's  taen  out  her  handkerchief, 

It  was  o  the  holland  sae  fine, 
And  aye  she  dighted  her  father's  bloody  wounds, 
That  were  redder  than  the  wine. 

9.  "  O  chuse,  O  chuse,  Lady  Margret,"  he  said, 

"  O  whether  will  ye  gang  or  bide?  " 
"  I  '11  gang,  I  '11  gang.  Lord  William,"  she  said, 
"  For  ye  have  left  me  no  other  guide." 

10.  He  's  lifted  her  on  a  milk-white  steed, 

And  himself  on  a  dapple  grey, 
With  a  bugelet  horn  hung  down  by  his  side. 
And  slowly  they  baith  rade  away. 

11.  O  they  rade  on,  and  on  they  rade, 

And  a'  by  the  light  of  the  moon. 
Until  they  came  to  yon  wan  water, 
And  there  they  lighted  down. 

12.  They  lighted  down  to  tak  a  drink 

Of  the  spring  that  ran  sae  clear, 
And  down  the  stream  ran  his  gude  heart's  blood, 
And  sair  she  gan  to  fear. 


POPULAR  BALLADS  3 

13.  "  Hold  up,  hold  up,  Lord  William,"  she  says, 

"  For  I  fear  that  you  are  slain ; " 
"  'Tis  naething  but    the    shadow   of    my  scarlet 
cloak, 
That  shines  in  the  water  sae  plain." 

14.  O  they  rade  on,  and  on  they  rade, 

And  a'  by  the  light  of  the  moon. 
Until  they  cam  to  his  mother's  ha  door, 
And  there  they  lighted  down. 

15.  "  Get  up,  get  up,  lady  mother,"  he  says, 

"  Get  up,  and  let  me  in  ! 
Get  up,  get  up,  lady  mother,"  he  says, 
"  For  this  night  my  fair  lady  I  've  win. 

16.  "  O  male  my  bed,  lady  mother,"  he  says, 

"  O  mak  it  braid  and  deep, 
And  lay  lady  Margret  close  at  my  back. 
And  the  sounder  I  will  sleep." 

17.  Lord  William  was  dead  lang  ere  midnight. 

Lady  Margret  lang  ere  day. 
And  all  true  lovers  that  go  thegither. 
May  they  have  mair  luck  than  they ! 

18.  Lord  WiDiam  was  buried  in  St.  Mary's  kirk. 

Lady  Margret  in  Mary's  quire  ; 
Out  o  the  lady's  grave  grew  a  bonny  red  rose, 
And  out  o  the  knight's  a  brier. 

19.  And  they  twa  met,  and  they  twa  plat, 

And  fain  they  wad  be  near; 


POPULAR  BALLADS 

And  a'  the  warld  might  ken  right  weel 
They  were  twa  lovers  dear. 

20.  But  bye  and  rade  the  Black  Douglas, 
And  wow  but  he  was  rough! 
For  he  pulld  up  the  bonny  brier, 
And  flang  't  in  St.  Mary's  Loch. 


THE   TWA   SISTERS 

1.  There  was  twa  sisters  in  a  bowr, 

Binnorie,  O  Binnorie 
There  was  twa  sisters  in  a  bowr, 

Binnorie,  O  Binnorie 
There  was  twa  sisters  in  a  bowr, 
There  came  a  knight  to  be  their  wooer, 

By  the  bonny  mill-dams  of  Binnorie. 

2.  He  courted  the  eldest  wi  glove  an  ring. 
But  he  lovd  the  youngest  abov^e  a'  thing. 

3.  He  courted  the  eLlest  wi  brotch  an  knife, 
But  lovd  the  youngest  as  his  life. 

4.  The  eldest  she  was  vexed  sair, 
An  much  envi'd  her  sister  fair. 

6.  Into  her  bowr  she  could  not  rest, 
Wi  grief  an  spite  she  almos  brast, 

6.  Upon  a  morning  fair  an  clear, 
She  cried  upon  her  sister  dear : 


POPULAR  BALLADS  I 

7.  "  O  sister,  come  to  yon  sea  stran, 

An  see  our  father's  ships  come  to  Ian." 

8.  She  's  taen  her  by  the  milk-white  han, 
An  led  her  down  to  yon  sea  stran. 

9.  The  younges[t]  stood  upon  a  stane, 
The  eldest  came  an  threw  her  in. 

10.  She  tooke  her  by  the  middle  sma, 
An  dashd  her  bonny  back  to  the  jaw. 

11.  "  O  sister,  sister,  tak  my  han, 

An  Ise  mack  you  heir  to  a  m^  Ian. 

12.  "  O  sister,  sister,  tak  my  middle, 

An  yes  get  my  goiid  and  my  gouden  girdle. 

13.  "  O  sister,  sister,  save  my  life. 

An  I  swear  Ise  never  be  nae  man's  wife." 

14.  "  Foul  fa  the  han  that  I  should  tacke, 
It  twin'd  me  an  my  wardles  make. 

15.  "  Your  cherry  cheeks  an  yallow  hair 
Gars  me  gae  maiden  for  evermair." 

IG.  Sometimes  she  sank,  an  sometimes  she  swam, 
Till  she  came  down  yon  bonny  mill-dam. 

17.  O  out  it  came  the  miller's  son. 
An  saw  the  fair  maid  swimmin  in. 


POPULAR  BALLADS 

18.  "  O  father,  father,  draw  your  dam, 
Here  's  either  a  mermaid  or  a  swan." 

19.  The  miller  quickly  drew  the  dam, 
An  there  he  found  a  drowud  woman. 

20.  You  eoudna  see  her  yallow  hair 

For  gold  and  pearle  that  were  so  rare. 

21.  You  eoudna  see  her  middle  sma 

For  gouden  girdle  that  was  sae  braw. 

22.  You  eoudna  see  her  fingers  white. 
For  gouden  rings  that  was  sae  gryte. 

23.  An  by  there  came  a  harper  fine, 
.   That  harped  to  the  king  at  dine. 

24.  When  he  did  look  that  lady  upon, 
He  sighd  and  made  a  heavy  moan. 

25.  He 's  taen  three  locks  o  her  yallow  hair, 
An  wi  them  strung  his  harp  sae  fair. 

26.  The  first  tune  he  did  play  and  sing. 
Was,  "  Farewell  to  my  father  the  king." 

27.  The  nextin  tune  that  he  playd  syne. 
Was,  "  Farewell  to  my  mother  the  queen." 

28.  The  lasten  tune  that  he  playd  then, 
Was,  "  Wae  to  my  sister,  fair  Ellen." 


POPULAR  BALLADS 

THE   CRUEL   BROTHER 

1.  There  was  three  ladies  playd  at  the  ba, 

With  a  hey  ho  and  a  lillie  gay 
There  came  a  knight  and  played  oer  them  a'. 
As  the  primrose  spreads  so  sweetly. 

2.  The  eldest  was  baith  tall  and  fair, 
But  the  youngest  was  beyond  compare. 

3.  The  midmost  had  a  graceful  mien, 

But  the  youngest  lookd  like  beautie's  queen. 

4.  The  knight  bowd  low  to  a'  the  three. 
But  to  the  youngest  he  bent  his  knee. 

5.  The  ladie  turned  her  head  aside, 

The  knight  he  woo'd  her  to  be  his  bride. 

6.  The  ladie  blushd  a  rosy  red. 

And  sayd,  "  Sir  knight,  I  'm  too  young  to  wed.' 

7.  "  O  ladie  fair,  give  me  your  hand. 

And  I  '11  make  you  ladie  of  a'  my  land." 

8.  "  Sir  knight,  ere  ye  my  favor  win, 
You  maun  get  consent  frae  a'  my  kin." 

9.  He  's  got  consent  frae  her  parents  dear. 
And  likewise  frae  her  sisters  fair. 

10.  He  's  got  consent  frae  her  kin  each  one. 
But  forgot  to  spiek  to  her  brother  John. 


8  POPULAE  BALLADS 

11.  Now,  when  the  wedding  day  was  come, 

The  knight  would  take  his  bonny  bride  homCo 

12.  And  many  a  lord  and  many  a  knight 
Came  to  behold  that  ladie  bright. 

13.  And  there  was  nae  man  that  did  her  see 
But  wishd  himself  bridegroom  to  be. 

14.  Her  father  dear  led  her  down  the  stair, 
And  her  sisters  twain  they  kissd  her  there. 

15.  Her  mother  dear  led  her  thro  the  closs, 
And  her  brother  John  set  her  on  her  horse. 

16.  She  leand  her  oer  the  saddle-bow, 
To  give  him  a  kiss  ere  she  did  go. 

17.  He  has  taen  a  knife,  baith  lang  and  sharp, 
And  stabbd  that  bonny  bride  to  the  heart. 

18.  She  hadno  ridden  half  thro  the  town. 
Until  her  heart's  blude  staind  her  gown. 

19.  "Ride  softly  on,"  says  the  best  young  man, 

"  For  I  think  our  bonny  bride  looks  pale  and  wan." 

20.  "  O  lead  me  gently  up  yon  hill, 

And  I  '11  there  sit  down,  and  make  my  wiU." 

21.  "  O  what  will  you  leave  to  your  father  dear?" 
"  The  silver-shode  steed  that  brought  me  here." 


POPULAR  BALLADS 

22 


23. 


24. 


25. 


26. 


What  will  you  leave  to  your  mother  dear  ?  " 
'  My  velvet  pall  and  my  silken  gear." 

'  What  will  you  leave  to  your  sister  Anne  ?  " 
'  My  silken  scarf  and  my  gowden  fan." 

'  What  will  you  leave  to  your  sister  Grace  ?  " 
'  My  bloody  cloaths  to  wash  and  dress." 

'  What  will  you  leave  to  your  brother  John  ?  " 
'  The  gallows-tree  to  hang  him  on." 

'  What  will   you   leave   to  your   brother  John's 

wife  ?  " 
'  The  wilderness  to  end  her  life." 


27.  This  ladie  fair  in  her  grave  was  laid, 
And  many  a  mass  was  oer  her  said. 

28.  But  it  would  have  made  your  heart  right  sair. 
To  see  the  bridejrroom  rive  his  haire. 


EDWARD 

1.  "  Why  dois  your  brand  sae  drap  wi  bluid, 

Edward,  Edward, 
Why  dois  your  brand  sae  drap  wi  bluid, 

And  why  sae.  sad  gang  yee  O  ?  " 
"01  hae  killed  my  hauke  sae  guid, 

Mither,  mither, 
O  I  hae  killed  my  hauke  sae  guid, 
And  I  had  nae  niair  l)ot  hee  O." 


10  POPULAR  BALLADS 

2.  "  Your  Laiikis  bluid  was  nevir  sae  reid, 

Edward,  Edward, 
Your  haukis  bluid  was  nevir  sae  reid, 

My  deir  son  I  tell  thee  O." 
"01  hae  killed  my  reid-roan  steid, 

Mither,  mither, 
O  I  hae  killed  my  reid-roan  steid, 
That  erst  was  sae  fair  and  frie  O." 

3.  "  Your  steid  was  auld,  and  ye  hae  gat  mair, 

Edward,  Edward, 
Your  steid  was  auld,  and  ye  hae  gat  mair. 

Sum  other  dule  ye  drie  O." 
"01  hae  killed  my  fadir  deir, 

Mither,  mither, 
O  I  hae  killed  my  fadir  deir, 
Alas,  and  wae  is  mee  O !  " 

4.  "  And  whatten  penance  wul  ye  drie  for  that, 

Edward,  Edward, 
And  whatten  penance  will  ye  drie  for  that  ? 

My  deir  son,  now  tell  me  O." 
"  He  set  my  feit  in  yonder  boat, 

Mither,  mither, 
He  set  my  feit  in  yonder  boat. 
And  He  fare  ovir  the  sea  O." 

5.  "  And  what  wul  ye  doe  wi  your  towirs  and  your  ha, 

Ed\vard,  Edward  ? 
And  what  wul  you  doe  wi  your  towirs  and  your  ha, 

That  were  sae  fair  to  see  O  ?  " 
"He  let  tliame  stand  tul  they  doun  fa, 

Mither,  mither, 


POPULAR  BALLADS  11 

lie  let  tliame  stand  till  they  down  fa, 
For  here  nevir  mair  maun  I  bee  O." 

6.  "  And  what  wul  ye  leive  to  your  bairns  and  your 

wife, 

Edward,  Edward  ? 
And  what  wul  ye   leive  to  your  bairns  and  your 
wife, 
Whan  ye  gang  ovir  the  sea  O? " 
"  The  warldis  room,  late  them  beg  thrae  life, 

Mither,  mither. 
The  warldis  room,  late  them  beg  thrae  life, 
For  thame  nevir  mair  wul  I  see  O." 

7.  «  And  what  wul  ye  leive  to  your  ain  mither  deir, 

Edward,  Edward  ? 
And  what  wul  ye  leive  to  your  ain  mither  deir  ? 

My  deir  son,  now  tell  me  O." 
"  The  curse  of  hell  frae  me  sail  ye  beir, 

Mither,  mither. 
The  curse  of  hell  frae  me  sail  ye  beir, 
Sic  counseils  ye  gave  to  me  O." 

BABYLON;  OK,  THE  BONNIE  BANKS  O 
FORDIE 

1.  There  were  three  ladies  lived  in  a  bower, 

Eh  vow  bonnie 
And  they  went  out  to  pull  a  flower. 
On  the  bonnie  banks  o  Fordie 

2.  They  hadna  pu'ed  a  flower  but  ane. 
When  up  started  to  them  a  banisht  man. 


12  POPULAR  BALLADS 

3.  He 's  taen  the  first  sister  by  her  hand, 

And  he  's  turned  her  round  and  made  her  stand. 


4.  "  It 's  whether  will  ye  be  a  rank  robber's  wife, 
Or  will  ye  die  by  my  wee  pen-knife  ?  " 

5.  "  It 's  I  '11  not  be  a  rank  robber's  wife, 
But  I  'U  rather  die  by  your  wee  pen-knife." 

6.  He  's  killed  this  may,  and  he  's  laid  her  by, 
For  to  bear  the  red  rose  company. 

7.  He  's  taken  the  second  ane  by  the  hand. 

And  he  's  turned  her  round  and  made  her  stand. 

8.  "  It 's  whether  will  ye  be  a  rank  robber's  wife, 
Or  will  ye  die  by  my  wee  pen-knife?  " 

9.  "  I  '11  not  be  a  rank  robber's  wife, 

But  I  '11  rather  die  by  your  wee  pen-knife." 

10.  He  's  killed  this  may,  and  he 's  laid  her  by, 
For  to  bear  the  red  rose  company. 

11.  He 's  taken  the  youngest  ane  by  the  hand. 
And  he  's  turned  her  round  and  made  her  stand. 

12.  Says,  "  Will  ye  be  a  rank  robber's  wife, 
Or  will  ye  die  by  my  wee  pen-knife  ?  " 

13.  "  I  '11  not  be  a  rank  robber's  wife, 
Nor  will  I  die  by  your  wee  pen-knife. 


POPULAR  BALLADS  13 

14.  "  For  I  hae  a  brother  in  this  wood, 
And  gin  ye  kill  me,  it 's  he  '11  kill  thee." 

15.  "  What 's  thy  brother's  name  ?  come  tell  to  me." 
"  My  brother's  name  is  Baby  Lon." 

16.  "  O  sister,  sister,  what  have  I  done  ! 
O  have  I  done  this  ill  to  thee  ! 

17.  "  O  since  I  've  done  this  evil  deed, 
Good  sail  never  be  seen  o  me." 

18.  He  's  taken  out  his  wee  pen-kni£e. 

And  he  's  twjoied  himsel  o  his  ain  sweet  life. 


HIND   HORN 

1.  In  Scotland  there  was  a  babie  born, 

And  his  name  it  was  called  young  Hind  Horn. 
Lilie  lal,  etc.    With  a  f  al  lal,  etc. 

2.  He  sent  a  letter  to  our  king 

That  he  was  in  love  with  his  daughter  Jean. 

3.  He  's  gien  to  her  a  silver  wand, 

With  seven  living  lavrocks  sitting  thereon. 

4.  She  's  gien  to  him  a  diamond  ring. 
With  seven  bright  diamonds  set  therein. 

5.  "  When  this  ring  grows  pale  and  wan. 
You  may  know  by  it  my  love  is  gane." 


14  POPULAR  BALLADS 

6.  One  day  as  he  looked  liis  ring  upon, 
He  saw  the  diamonds  pale  and  wan. 

7.  He  left  the  sea  and  came  to  land, 

And  the  first  that  he  met  was  an  old  beggar  man. 

8.  "  What  news,  what  news  ?  "  said  young  Hind  Horn ; 
"  No  news,  no  news,"  said  the  old  beggar  man. 

9.  "  No  news,"  said  the  beggar,  "  no  news  at  a', 
But  there  's  a  wedding  in  the  king's  ha. 

10.  "  But  there  is  a  wedding  in  the  king's  ha. 
That  has  halden  these  forty  days  and  twa." 

11.  "  Will  ye  lend  me  your  begging  coat  ? 
And  I  '11  lend  you  my  scarlet  cloak. 

12.  "Will  you  lend  me  your  beggar's  rung? 
And  I  '11  gie  you  my  steed  to  ride  upon. 

13.  "Will  you  lend  me  your  wig  o  hair, 
To  cover  mine,  because  it  is  fair?" 

14.  The  auld  beggar  man  was  bound  for  the  mill, 
But  young  Hind  Horn  for  the  king's  hall. 

15.  The  auld  beggar  man  was  bound  for  to  ride, 
But  young  Hind  Horn  was  bound  for  the  bride. 

16.  When  he  came  to  the  king's  gate. 

He  sought  a  drink  for  Hind  Horn's  sake. 


POPULAR  BALLADS  15 

17.  The  bride  came  dowii  with  a  glass  of  wine, 
When  he  drank  out  the  glass,  and  dropt  in  the 

ring. 

18.  "  O  got  ye  this  by  sea  or  land? 

Or  got  ye  it  off  a  dead  man's  hand  ?  " 

19.  "I  got  not  it  by  sea,  I  got  it  by  land, 

And  I  got  it,  madam,  out  of  your  own  hand." 

20.  "  O  I  '11  cast  off  my  gowns  of  brown, 
And  begwi  you  frae  towni  to  town. 

21.  "  O  I  '11  cast  off  my  gowns  of  red, 
And  1  '11  beg  wi  you  to  win  my  bread." 

22.  "  Ye  needna  cast  off  your  gowns  of  brown, 
For  I  '11  make  you  lady  o  many  a  town. 

23.  "  Ye  needna  cast  off  your  gowns  of  red. 

It 's  only  a  sham,  the  begging  o  my  bread." 

24.  The  bridegroom  he  had  wedded  the  bride, 
But  young  Iliud  Horn  he  took  her  to  bed. 


LORD   THOMAS   AND   FAIR  ANNET 

1.  Lord  Thomas  and  Fair  Annet 
Sate  a'  day  on  a  hill ; 
"VVhan  night  was  cum,  and  sun  was  sett, 
They  had  not  talkt  their  fill. 


16  POPULAR  BALLADS 

2.  Lord  Thomas  said  a  word  in  jest, 

Fair  Annet  took  it  ill : 
"  A,  I  wiU  nevir  wed  a  wife 
Against  my  ain  friends'  will." 

3.  "  Gif  ye  wull  nevir  wed  a  wife, 

A  wife  wull  neir  wed  yee :  " 
Sae  he  is  hame  to  tell  his  mither, 
And  knelt  upon  his  knee. 

4.  "  O  rede,  O  rede,  mither,"  he  says, 

"  A  gude  rede  gie  to  mee  ; 

0  sail  I  tak  the  nut-browne  bride. 
And  let  Faire  Annet  bee  ?  " 

5.  "  The  nut-browne  bride  haes  gowd  and  gear, 

Fair  Annet  she  has  gat  nane ; 
And  the  little  beauty  Fair  Annet  haes 
O  it  wull  soon  be  gane." 

6.  And  he  has  till  his  brother  gane : 

"  Now,  brother,  rede  ye  mee ; 
A,  sail  I  marrie  the  nut-browne  bride. 
And  let  Fair  Annet  bee?" 

7.  "  The  nut-browne  bride  has  oxen,  brother, 

The  nut-browne  bride  has  kye  ; 

1  wad  hae  ye  marrie  the  nut-browne  bride, 

And  cast  Fair  Annet  bye." 

8.  "  Her  oxen  may  dye  i  the  house,  billie. 

And  her  kye  into  the  byre, 
And  I  sail  hae  nothing  to  my  sell 
Bot  a  fat  fadge  by  the  fyre." 


POPULAR  BALLADS  17 

9.  And  he  has  till  his  sister  gane : 
"Now,  sister,  rede  ye  mee  ; 
O  sail  I  marrie  the  nut-browne  bride, 
And  set  Fair  Annet  free  ?  " 

10.  "  I  'se  rede  ye  tak  Fair  Annet,  Thomas, 

And  let  the  browne  bride  alane ; 
Lest  ye  sould  sigh,  and  say,  Alace, 
"What  is  this  we  brought  hame !  " 

11.  "  No,  I  will  tak  my  mither's  counsel. 

And  marrie  me  owt  o  hand ; 
And  I  will  tak  the  nut-browne  bride, 
Fair  Annet  may  leive  the  land." 

12.  Up  then  rose  Fair  Annet's  father, 

Twa  hours  or  it  wer  day. 

And  he  is  gane  into  the  bower 

Wherein  Fair  Annet  lay. 

13.  "  Rise  up,  rise  up.  Fair  Annet,"  he  says, 

"  Put  on  your  silken  sheene  ; 
Let  us  gae  to  St.  Marie's  kirke, 
And  see  that  rich  weddeen." 

14.  "  My  maides,  gae  to  my  dressing-roome, 

And  dress  to  me  ray  hair ; 
Whaireir  yee  laid  a  plait  before, 
See  yee  lay  ten  times  mair. 

15.  "  My  maids,  gae  to  my  dressing-room, 

And  dress  to  me  my  smock ; 
The  one  half  is  o  the  holland  fine. 
The  other  o  needle-work." 


18  POPULAR   BALLADS 

16.  The  horse  Fair  Annet  rade  upon, 

He  amblit  like  the  wind  ; 
Wi  siller  he  was  shod  before, 
Wi  burning  gowd  behind. 

17.  Four  and  twanty  siller  bells 

Wer  a'  tyed  till  his  mane, 
And  yae  tift  o  the  norland  wind, 
They  tinkled  ane  by  ane. 

18.  Four  and  twanty  gay  gude  knichts 

Rade  by  Fair  Annet's  side, 

And  four  and  twanty  fair  ladies. 

As  gin  she  had  bin  a  bride. 

19.  And  whan  she  cam  to  Marie's  kirk. 

She  sat  on  Marie's  stean  : 
The  cleading  that  Fair  Annet  had  on 
It  skinkled  in  their  een. 

20.  And  whan  she  cam  into  the  kirk, 

She  shimmerd  like  the  sun ; 
The  belt  that  was  about  her  waist 
Was  a'  wi  pearles  bed  one. 

21.  She  sat  her  by  the  nut-browne  bride, 

And  her  een  they  wer  sae  clear, 
Lord  Thomas  he  clean  forgat  the  bride, 
Whan  Fair  Annet  drew  near. 

22.  He  had  a  rose  into  his  hand. 

He  gae  it  kisses  three, 
And  reaching  by  the  nut-browne  bride, 
Laid  it  on  Fair  Annet's  knee. 


POPULAR   BALLADS  19 

23.  Up  than  spak  the  uut-brovvne  bride, 

She  spak  \vi  meikle  spite : 
"  And  whair  gat  ye  that  rose-water, 
That  does  mak  yee  sae  white  ?  " 

24.  "01  did  get  the  rose-water 

Whair  ye  wall  neir  get  nane, 
For  I  did  get  that  very  rose-water 
Into  my  niither's  wame." 

25.  The  bride  she  drew  a  long  bodkin 

Frae  out  her  gay  head-gear, 
And  strake  Fair  Annet  unto  the  heart. 
That  word  spak  nevir  mair. 

26.  Lord  Thomas  he  saw  Fair  Annet  wex  pale, 

And  marvelit  what  mote  bee  ; 
But  whan  he  saw  her  dear  heart's  blude, 
A'  wood-wroth  wexed  hee. 

27.  He  drew  his  dagger,  that  was  sae  sharp, 

That  was  sae  sharp  and  meet. 
And  drave  it  into  the  nut-browne  bride. 
That  fell  deid  at  his  feit. 

28.  "  Now  stay  for  me,  dear  Annet,"  he  sed, 

"Now. stay,  my  dear,"  he  cry'd  ; 
Then  strake  the  dagger  untill  his  heart, 
And  fell  deid  by  her  side. 

29.  Lord  Thomas  was  buried  without  kirkwa. 

Fair  Annet  within  the  (juiere. 
And  o  the  tane  thair  grew  a  birk. 
The  other  a  bonny  briere. 


20  POPULAR  BALLADS 

30.  And  ay  they  grew,  and  ay  they  threw, 
As  they  wad  faine  be  neare  ; 
And  by  this  ye  may  ken  right  weil 
They  were  twa  hivers  dears. 


LOVE   GREGOR 

1.  "  O  WHA  will  shoe  my  f u  fair  foot  ? 

And  wha  will  glove  my  hand  ? 
And  wha  will  lace  my  middle  jimp, 
Wi  the  new  made  London  band  ? 

2.  "  And  wha  will  kaim  my  yellow  hair, 

Wi  the  new  made  silver  kaim  ? 
And  wha  will  father  my  young  son. 
Till  Love  Gregor  come  hame?  " 

3.  "  Your  father  will  shoe  your  fu  fair  foot, 

Your  mother  will  glove  your  hand ; 
Your  sister  will  lace  your  middle  jimp 
Wi  the  new  made  London  band. 

4.  "  Your  brother  will  kaim  your  yellow  hair, 

Wi  the  new  made  silver  kaim  ; 
And  the  king  of  heaven  will  father  your  bairn, 
Till  Love  Gregor  come  haim.  " 

5.  "  But  I  will  get  a  bonny  boat. 

And  I  will  sail  the  sea, 
For  I  maun  gang  to  Love  Gregor, 
Since  he  canno  come  hame  to  me." 


POPULAR  BALLADS  21 

6.  O  she  lias  gotten  a  bonny  boat, 

And  sailld  the  sa't  sea  fame ; 

She  langd  to  see  her  ain  true-love, 

Since  he  could  no  come  hame. 

7.  "  O  row  j^our  boat,  my  mariners, 

And  bring"  me  to  the  land, 
For  yonder  I  see  my  love's  castle, 
Closs  by  the  sa't  sea  strand." 

8.  She  has  taen  her  young  son  in  her  arms. 

And  to  the  door  she  's  gone, 
And  lang  she  's  knocked  and  sair  she  ca'd, 
But  answer  got  she  none. 

9.  "  O  open  the  door,  Love  Gregor,"  she  says, 

"  O  open,  and  let  me  in  ; 
For  the  win  blaws  thro  my  yellow  hair, 
And  the  rain  draps  oer  my  chin." 

10.  "Awa,  awa,  ye  ill  woman. 

You  'r  nae  come  here  for  good  ; 
You  'r  but  some  witch,  or  wile  warlock. 
Or  mer-maid  of  the  flood." 

11.  "I  am  neither  a  witch  nor  a  wile  warlock, 

Nor  mer-maid  of  the  sea, 
I  am  Fair  Annie  of  Rough  Royal ; 
O  open  the  door  to  me." 

12.  "  Gin  ye  be  Annie  of  Rough  Royal  — 

And  I  trust  ye  are  not  she  — 
Now  tell  me  some  of  the  love-tokens 
That  past  between  you  and  me." 


22  POPULAR  BALLADS 

13.  "  O  dinna  you  mind  now,  Love  Gregor, 

When  we  sat  at  the  wine, 
How  we  changed  the  rings  frae  our  fingers? 
And  I  can  show  thee  thine. 

14.  "  O  yours  was  good,  and  good  enneugh, 

But  ay  the  best  was  mine ; 
For  yours  was  o  the  good  red  goud, 
But  mine  o  the  dimonds  fine. 

15.  "  But  open  the  door  now.  Love  Gregor, 

O  open  the  door  I  pray, 
For  your  young  son  that  is  in  my  arms 
Will  be  dead  ere  it  be  day." 

16.  "  Awa,  awa,  ye  ill  woman, 

For  here  ye  shanno  win  in; 
Gae  drown  ye  in  the  raging  sea. 
Or  hang  on  the  gallows-pin." 

17.  When  the  cock  had  crawn,  and  day  did  dawn, 

And  the  sun  began  to  peep, 

Then  it  raise  him  Love  Gregor, 

And  sair,  sair  did  he  weep. 

18.  "01  dreamd  a  dream,  my  mother  dear, 

The  thoughts  o  it  gars  me  greet, 
That  Fair  Annie  of  Rough  Royal 
Lay  cauld  dead  at  my  feet." 

19.  "  Gin  it  be  for  Annie  of  Rough  Royal 

That  ye  make  a'  this  din, 
She  stood  a'  last  night  at  this  door. 
But  I  trow  she  wan  no  in." 


POPULAR  BALLADS  23 

20.  "  O  wae  betide  ye,  ill  woman, 

An  ill  dead  may  ye  die  ! 
That  ye  woudno  open  the  door  to  her, 
Nor  yet  woud  waken  me." 

21.  O  he  has  gone  down  to  yon  shore-side, 

As  fast  as  he  could  fare ; 
He  saw  Fair  Annie  in  her  boat, 
But  the  wind  it  tossed  her  sair. 

22.  And  "  Hey,  Annie  !  "  and  "  How,  Annie  ! 

O  Annie,  winna  ye  bide  ?  " 
But  ay  the  mair  that  he  cried  Annie, 
The  braider  grew  the  tide. 

23.  And  "Hey,  Annie  !  "  and  " How  Annie  ! 

Dear  Annie  speak  to  me  !  " 
But  ay  the  louder  he  cried  Annie, 
The  louder  roard  the  sea. 

24.  The  wind  blew  loud,  the  sea  grew  rough. 

And  dashd  the  boat  on  shore ; 
Fair  Annie  floats  on  the  raging  sea, 
But  her  young  son  raise  no  more. 

25.  Love  Gregor  tare  his  yellow  hair, 

And  made  a  heavy  moan  ; 
Fair  Annie's  corpse  lay  at  his  feet. 
But  his  bonny  yoimg  son  was  gone. 

26.  O  cherry,  cherry  was  her  cheek, 

And  gowden  was  her  hair. 
But  clay  cold  were  her  rosey  lips, 
Nae  spark  of  life  was  there. 


24  POPULAR  BALLADS 

27.  And  first  he'  s  kissd  her  cherry  cheek, 

And  neist  he  's  kissed  her  chin  ; 
And  saftly  pressed  her  rosey  lips, 
But  there  was  nae  breath  within. 

28.  "  O  wae  betide  my  cruel  mother, 

And  an  ill  dead  may  she  die  ! 
For  she  turnd  my  true-love  frae  my  door. 
When  she  came  sae  far  to  me." 


BONNY  BARBARA  ALLAN 

1.  It  was  in  and  about  the  Martinmas  time, 

When  the  green  leaves  were  a  falling, 
That  Sir  John  Graeme,  in  the  West  Country, 
Fell  in  love  with  Barbara  Allan. 

2.  He  sent  his  man  down  through  the  town, 
•    To  the  place  where  she  was  dwelling: 

"  O  haste  and  come  to  my  master  dear. 
Gin  ye  be  Barbara  Allan." 

3.  O  hooly,  hooly  rose  she  up, 

To  the  place  where  he  was  lying, 
And  when  she  drew  the  curtain  by, 
"  Young  man,  I  think  you  're  dying." 

4.  "  O  it 's  I  'm  sick,  and  very,  very  sick. 

And  't  is  a'  for  Barbara  Allan  :  " 
"  O  the  better  for  me  ye  's  never  be, 
Tho  your  heart's  blood  were  a  spilling. 


POPULAR   BALLADS  25 

5.  "  O  diuna  ye  mind,  young  man,"  said  she, 

"  When  ye  was  in  the  tavern  a  drinking, 
That  ye  made  the  healths  gae  round  and  round, 
And  slighted  Barbara  Allan  ?  " 

6.  He  turnd  his  face  unto  the  wall. 

And  death  was  with  him  dealing  : 
"  Adieu,  adieu,  my  dear  friends  all, 
And  be  kind  to  Barbara  Allan." 

7.  And  slowly,  slowly  raise  she  up. 

And  slowly,  slowly  left  him, 
And  sighing  said,  she  coud  not  stay, 
Since  death  of  life  had  reft  him. 

8.  She  had  not  gane  a  mile  but  twa. 

When  she  heard  the  dead-bell  ringing, 
And  every  jow  that  the  dead-bell  geid. 
It  cry'd,  Woe  to  Barbara  Allan ! 

9.  "  O  mother,  mother,  make  ray  bed ! 

0  make  it  saft  and  narrow ! 
Since  my  love  died  for  me  to-day, 

1  '11  die  for  him  to-morrow." 


LAMKIN 

It  's  Lamkin  was  a  mason  good 
as  ever  built  wi  stane  ; 

He  built  Lord  Wearie's  castlo, 
but  payment  got  he  nane. 


26  POPULAR  BALLADS 

2.  "  O  pay  me,  Lord  Wearie, 

come,  pay  rae  my  fee  : " 
"  I  canna  pay  you,  Lamkin, 
for  I  maun  gang  oer  the  sea." 

3.  "  O  pay  me  now.  Lord  Wearie, 

come,  pay  me  out  o  hand  :  " 
"I  canna  pay  you,  Lamkin, 
unless  I  sell  my  land." 

4.  "  O  gin  ye  winna  pay  me, 

I  here  sail  mak  a  vow. 
Before  that  ye  come  hame  again, 
ye  sail  hae  cause  to  rue." 

5.  Lord  Wearie  got  a  bonny  ship, 

to  sail  the  saiit  sea  faem  ; 
Bade  his  lady  weel  the  castle  keep, 
ay  till  he  should  come  hame. 

6.  But  the  nourice  was  a  fause  limmer 

as  eer  hung  on  a  tree  ; 
She  laid  a  plot  wi  Lamkin, 
whan  her  lord  was  oer  the  sea. 

7.  She  laid  a  plot  wi  Lamkin, 

when  the  servants  were  awa. 
Loot  him  in  at  a  little  shot-window, 
and  brought  him  to  the  ha. 

8.  "  O  whare  's  a'  the  men  o  this  house, 

that  ca  me  Lamkin  ?  " 
"  They  're  at  the  barn-well  thrashing ; 
't  will  be  lang  ere  they  come  in." 


POPULAR  BALLADS  27 

9.  "  And  wliare  's  the  women  o  this  house, 
that  ca  me  Lamkm?" 
"  They  're  at  the  far  well  washing  ; 
't  will  be  lang  ere  they  come  in." 

10.  "  And  whare  's  the  bairns  o  this  house, 

that  ca  me  Lamkin  ?  " 
"  They  're  at  the  school  reading ; 

't  will  be  night  or  they  come  hame." 

11.  "  O  whare  's  the  lady  o  this  house, 

that  ca's  me  Lamkin  ?  " 
"  She's  up  in  her  bower  sewing, 

but  we  soon  we  can  bring  her  dowTi." 

12.  Then  Lamkin's  tane  a  sharp  knife, 

that  hang  down  by  his  gaire, 
And  he  has  gien  the  bonny  babe 
a  deep  wound  and  a  sair. 

13.  Then  Lamkin  he  rocked, 

and  the  fause  nourice  sang. 
Till  frae  ilkae  bore  o  the  cradle 
the  red  blood  out  sprang. 

14.  Then  out  it  spak  the  lady, 

as  she  stood  on  the  stair : 
"  AVhat  ails  my  bairn,  nourice, 
that  he 's  greeting  sae  sair  ? 

15.  O  still  my  bairn  nourice, 

O  still  him  with  the  pap  !  " 
"  He  winna  still,  lady, 
for  this  nor  for  that." 


28  POPULAR  BALLADS 

16.  "  O  still  my  bairn,  nourice, 

O  still  him  wi  the  wand !  " 
"  He  winna  still,  lady, 
for  a'  his  father's  land." 

17.  "  O  still  my  bairn,  nourice, 

O  still  him  wi  the  bell !  " 
"  He  winna  still,  lady, 

till  ye  come  do^v^^  yoursel." 

18.  O  the  firsten  step  she  stepj)it, 

she  steppit  on  a  stane  ; 
But  the  neisten  step  she  steppit, 
she  met  him  Lamkin. 

19.  "  O  mercy,  mercy,  Lamkin, 

hae  mercy  upon  me  ! 
Though  you  've  taen  my  young  son's  life. 
ye  may  let  raysel  be." 

20.  "  O  sail  I  kill  her,  nourice, 

or  sail  I  lat  her  be?" 
"  O  kill  her,  kill  her,  Lamkin, 
for  she  neer  was  good  to  me." 

21.  "  O  scour  the  bason,  nourice, 

and  mak  it  fair  and  clean, 
For  to  keep  this  lady's  heart's  blood, 
for  she  's  come  o  noble  kin." 

22.  "  There  need  nae  bason,  Lamkin, 

lat  it  run  through  the  floor  ; 

What  better  is  the  heart's  blood 

o  the  rich  than  o  the  poor  ?  " 


POPULAR  BALLADS  29 

23.  But  ere  three  months  were  at  an  end, 
Lord  Wearie  came  again  ; 
But  dowie,  dowie  was  his  heart 
when  first  he  came  hame. 


24.  "  O  wha's  blood  is  this,"  he  says, 

"  that  lies  in  the  chamer  ?  " 

"  It  is  your  lady's  heart's  blood  ; 

't  is  as  clear  as  the  lamer." 

25.  "  And  wha's  blood  is  this,"  he  says, 

"  that  lies  in  my  ha  ?  " 
"  It  is  your  young  son's  heart's  blood ; 
't  is  the  clearest  ava." 

26.  O  sweetly  sang  the  black-bird 

that  sat  upon  the  tree ; 
But  sairer  grat  Lamkin, 

when  he  was  condemnd  to  die. 

27.  And  bonny  sang  the  mavis, 

out  o  the  thorny  brake  ; 
But  sairer  grat  the  nourice, 

when  she  was  tied  to  the  stake. 


YOUNG  WATERS 

About  Yule,  when  the  wind  blew  cule, 
And  the  round  tables  began, 

A  there  is  cum  to  our  king's  court 
Mony  a  well-favord  man. 


30  POPULAR  BALLADS 

2.  The  queen  luikt  owre  the  castle-wa, 

Beheld  baith  dale  and  down, 
And  there  she  saw  Young  Waters 
Cum  riding  to  the  town. 

3.  His  footmen  they  did  rin  before, 

His  horsemen  rade  behind  ; 

And  mantel  of  the  burning  gowd 

Did  keip  him  frae  the  wind. 

4.  Gowden-graithd  his  horse  before, 

And  siller-shod  behind ; 
The  horse  Young  Waters  rade  upon 
Was  fleeter  than  the  wind. 

6.  Out  then  spack  a  wylie  lord. 
Unto  the  queen  said  he, 
"  O  tell  me  wha  's  the  fairest  face 
Eides  in  the  company  ?  " 

6.  "  I  Ve  sene  lord,  and  I  've  sene  laird, 

And  knights  of  high  degree, 
Bot  a  fairer  face  than  Young  Waters 
Mine  eyne  did  never  see." 

7.  Out  then  spack  the  jealous  king, 

And  an  angry  man  was  he : 
"  O  if  he  had  bin  twice  as  fair. 
You  micht  have  excepted  me." 

8.  "  You  're  neither  laird  nor  lord,"  she  says, 

"  Bot  the  king  that  wears  the  crown  ; 
There  is  not  a  knight  in  fair  Scotland 
But  to  thee  maun  bow  down." 


POPULAR  BALLADS  31 

9.  For  a'  that  she  coud  do  or  say, 
Appeas'd  he  wad  nae  bee, 
Bot  for  the  words  which  she  had  said, 
Young  Waters  he  maun  die. 

10.  They  hae  taen  Young  Waters, 

And  put  fetters  to  his  feet ; 
They  hae  taen  Young  AVaters, 

And  thrown  him  in  dungeon  deep. 

11.  "  Aft  I  have  ridden  thro  Stirling  town 

In  the  wind  bot  and  the  weit ; 
But  I  neir  rade  thro  Stirling  town 
Wi  fetters  at  my  feet. 

12.  "  Aft  I  have  ridden  thro  Stirling  town 

In  the  wind  bot  and  the  rain ; 
Bot  I  neir  rade  thro  Stirling  town 
Neir  to  return  again." 

13.  They  hae  taen  to  the  heiding-hill 

His  young  son  in  his  craddle, 
And  they  hae  taen  to  the  heiding-hill 
His  horse  bot  and  his  saddle. 

14.  They  hae  taen  to  the  heiding-hill 

His  lady  fair  to  see. 
And  for  the  words  the  queen  had  spoke 
Youn<r  Waters  he  did  die. 


32  POPULAR  BALLADS 

THE   GAY   GOSS-HAWK 

1.  "  O  WELL  's  me  o  my  gay  goss-hawk, 

That  lie  can  speak  and  flee ; 
He  '11  carry  a  letter  to  my  love, 
Bring  back  another  to  me." 

2.  "0  how  can  I  your  true-love  ken, 

Or  how  can  I  her  know  ? 
Whan  f rae  her  mouth  I  never  heard  couth, 
Nor  wi  my  eyes  her  saw." 

3.  "  O  well  sal  ye  my  true-love  ken. 

As  soon  as  you  her  see  ; 
For,  of  a'  the  flowrs  in  fair  Englan, 
The  fairest  flowr  is  she. 

4.  "  At  even  at  my  love's  bowr-door 

There  grows  a  bowing  birk, 
An  sit  ye  down  and  sing  thereon. 
As  she  gangs  to  the  kirk. 

5.  "  An  four-and-twenty  ladies  fair 

Will  wash  and  go  to  kirk, 
But  well  shall  ye  my  true-love  ken, 
For  she  wears  goud  on  her  skirt. 

6.  "  An  four  and  twenty  gay  ladies 

Will  to  the  mass  repair, 
But  well  sal  ye  my  true-love  ken. 
For  she  wears  goud  on  her  hair." 


POPULAR   BALLADS  33 

7.  O  even  at  that  lady's  bowr-door 

There  grows  a  bowin  birk, 
An  he  set  down  and  sang  thereon, 
As  she  ged  to  the  kirk. 

8.  "  O  eet  and  drink,  my  marys  a'. 

The  wine  flows  you  among. 
Till  I  gang  to  my  shot-window, 
An  hear  yon  bonny  bird's  song. 

9.  "  Sing  on,  sing  on,  my  bonny  bird, 

The  song  ye  sang  the  streen. 
For  I  ken  by  your  sweet  singin 
You  're  frae  my  true-love  sen." 

10.  O  first  he  sang  a  merry  song. 

An  then  he  sang  a  grave. 
An  then  he  peckd  his  feathers  gray, 
To  her  the  letter  gave. 

11.  "  Ha,  there  's  a  letter  frae  your  love, 

He  says  he  sent  you  three ; 

He  canna  wait  your  love  langer. 

But  for  your  sake  he  '11  die. 

12.  "  He  bids  you  write  a  letter  to  him ; 

He  says  he  's  sent  you  five  ; 
He  canno  wait  your  love  langer, 

Tho  you  're  the  fairest  woman  alive." 

13.  "  Ye  bid  him  bake  his  bridal-bread. 

And  brew  his  bridal-ale. 
An  I  'II  meet  him  in  fair  Scotlan 
Lang,  lang  or  it  be  stale." 


34  POPULAR  BALLADS 

14.  She's  doen  her  to  her  father  dear, 

Fa'n  low  down  on  her  knee : 

"  A  boon,  a  boon,  my  father  dear, 

I  pray  you,  grant  it  me." 

15.  "  Ask  on,  ask  on,  my  daughter, 

An  granted  it  sal  be  ; 
Except  ae  squire  in  fair  Scotlan, 
An  him  you  sail  never  see." 

16.  "  The  only  boon,  my  father  dear, 

That  I  do  crave  of  the, 
Is,  gin  I  die  in  southin  lands. 
In  Scotland  to  bury  me. 

17.  "  An  the  firstin  kirk  that  ye  come  till, 

Ye  gar  the  bells  be  rung, 
An  the  nextin  kirk  that  ye  come  till, 
Ye  gar  the  mess  be  sung. 

18.  "  An  the  thirdin  kirk  that  ye  come  till, 

You  deal  gold  for  my  sake. 
An  the  f ourthin  kirk  that  ye  come  till. 
You  tarry  there  till  night." 

19.  She  is  doen  her  to  her  bigiy  bowr, 

As  fast  as  she  coud  fare. 
An  she  has  tane  a  sleepy  draught. 
That  she  had  mixed  wi  care. 

20.  She  's  laid  her  down  upon  her  bed. 

An  soon  she  's  fa'n  asleep. 
And  soon  oer  every  tender  limb 
Cauld  death  began  to  creep. 


POPULAR  BALLADS  35 

21.  Whan  night  was  flown,  an  day  was  come, 

Nae  ane  that  did  her  see 
But  thought  she  was  as  surely  dead 
As  ony  lady  coud  be. 

22.  Her  father  an  her  brothers  dear 

Gard  make  to  her  a  bier ; 
The  tae  half  was  o  guide  red  gold, 
The  tither  o  silver  clear. 

23.  Her  mither  an  her  sisters  fair 

Gard  work  for  her  a  sark  ; 
The  tae  half  was  o  cambrick  fine, 
The  tither  o  needle  wark. 

24.  The  firstin  kirk  that  they  came  till. 

They  gard  the  bells  be  rung, 
An  the  nextin  kirk  that  they  came  till, 
They  gard  the  mess  be  sung. 

25.  The  thirdiu  kirk  that  they  came  till. 

They  dealt  gold  for  her  sake, 
An  the  fourthin  kirk  that  they  came  till, 
Lo,  there  they  met  her  make  ! 

26.  "Lay  down,  lay  down  the  biglybier. 

Lat  me  the  dead  look  on  ; " 
Wi  cheery  cheeks  and  ruby  lips 
She  lay  an  smil'd  on  him. 

27.  "  O  ae  sheave  o  your  bread,  true-love, 

An  ae  glass  o  your  wine. 

For  I  hae  fasted  for  your  sake 

These  fully  days  is  nine. 


36  POPULAR   BALLADS 

28.  "  Gang    hame,    gang    hame,    my  seven    bold 
brothers, 
Gang  hame  and  sound  your  horn; 
An  ye  may  boast  in  southin  lans 
Your  sister  's  playd  you  scorn." 


THE   THREE   RAVENS 

1.  There  were  three  rauens  sat  on  a  tree, 

Downe  a  downe,  hay  down,  hay  downe 
There  were  three  rauens  sat  on  a  tree, 

With  a  downe 
There  were  three  rauens  sat  on  a  tree, 
They  were  as  blacke  as  they  might  be. 

With  a  downe  derrie,  derrie,  derrie,  downe,  downe. 

2.  The  one  of  them  said  to  his  mate, 

"  Where  shall  we  our  breakefast  take?  " 

3.  "  Downe  in  yonder  greene  field, 

There  lies  a  knight  slain  vnder  his  shield. 

4.  "  His  hounds  they  lie  downe  at  his  feete. 
So  well  they  can  their  master  keepe. 

6.  "  His  haukes  they  flie  so  eagerly, 
There  's  no  fowle  dare  him  come  nie." 

6.  Downe  there  comes  a  fallow  doe. 

As  great  with  yong  as  she  might  goe. 

7.  She  lift  vp  his  bloudy  hed, 

And  kist  his  wounds  that  were  so  red. 


POPULAR  BALLADS  37 

8.  She  got  him  vp  vj)on  her  backe, 
And  carried  him  to  earthen  hdce. 

9.  She  buried  him  before  the  prime, 

She  was  dead  herselfe  ere  euen-song  time. 

10.  God  send  euery  gentleman, 

Such  haiikes,  such  hounds,  and  such  a  leman. 


THE   TWA  CORBIES 

1.  As  I  was  walking  all  alane, 

I  heard  tvva  corbies  making  a  mane ; 

The  tane  unto  the  t'  other  say, 

"  Where  sail  we  gang  and  dine  to-day?" 

2.  "In  behint  yon  auld  fail  dyke, 

I  wot  there  lies  a  new  slain  knight; 
And  naebody  kens  that  he  lies  there, 
But  his  hawk,  liis  hound,  and  lady  fair. 

3.  *'  His  hound  is  to  the  hunting  gane, 
His  hawk  to  fetch  the  wild-fowl  hame, 
His  lady's  ta'en  another  mate, 

So  we  may  mak  our  dinner  sweet. 

4.  "  Ye  'U  sit  on  his  wliite  hause-bane, 
And  I  '11  pike  out  his  bonny  blue  een ; 
Wi  ae  lock  o  his  gowden  hair 

We  '11  theek  our  nest  when  it  grows  bare. 


38  POPULAR   BALLADS 

5.   "  Mony  a  one  for  hlin  makes  mane, 
But  nane  sail  ken  where  he  is  gane ; 
Oer  his  white  banes  when  they  are  bare, 
The  wind  sail  blaw  for  evermair." 


SIR  PATRICK  SPENCE 

1.  The  king  sits  in  Dumferling  toune, 

Drinking  the  blucle-reid  wine  : 
"  O  whar  wiU  I  get  guid  sailor, 
To  sail  this  schip  of  mine  ?  " 

2.  Up  and  spak  an  eldern  knicht. 

Sat  at  the  kings  richt  kne : 
"  Sir  Patrick  Spence  is  the  best  sailor 
That  sails  upon  the  se." 

3.  The  king  has  written  a  braid  letter, 

And  signd  it  wi  his  hand, 
And  sent  it  to  Sir  Patrick  Spence, 
Was  walking  on  the  sand. 

4.  The  first  line  that  Sir  Patrick  red, 

A  loud  lauch  lauched  he  ; 
The  next  line  that  Sir  Patrick  red. 
The  teir  blinded  his  ee. 

6.  "  O  wha  is  this  has  don  this  deid, 
This  ill  deid  don  to  me, 
To  send  me  out  this  time  o'  the  yeir, 
To  sail  upon  the  se ! 


POPULAR  BALLADS  39 

6.  "  Mak  bast,  mak  haste,  my  mirry  men  all, 

Our  guid  sehip  sails  the  morne :  " 
"  O  say  na  sae,  my  master  deir, 
For  I  feir  a  deadlie  storme. 

7.  "  Late  late  yestreen  I  saw  the  new  moone, 

Wi  the  auld  moone  in  her  arme, 
And  I  feir,  I  feir,  my  deir  master, 
That  we  will  cum  to  harme." 

8.  O  our  Scots  nobles  wer  richt  laith 

To  weet  their  cork-heild  schoone  ; 
Bot  lang  owre  a'  the  play  wer  playd, 
Thair  bats  they  swam  aboone. 

9.  O  lang,  lang  may  their  ladies  sit, 

Wi  thair  fans  into  their  band, 
Or  eir  they  se  Sir  Patrick  Spence 
Cum  sailing  to  the  land. 

10.  O  lang,  lang  may  the  ladies  stand, 

Wi  thair  gold  kems  in  their  hair. 
Waiting  for  thair  ain  deir  lords, 
For  they  '11  se  thame  na  mair. 

11.  Haf  owre,  baf  owre  to  Aberdour, 

It 's  fiftie  fadom  deip. 
And  thair  lies  guid  Sir  Patrick  Spence, 
Wi  the  Scots  lords  at  his  feit. 


40  POPULAR  BALLADS 

THOMAS   RYMER   AND   THE    QUEEN   OF 
ELFLAND 

1.  True  Thomas  lay  oer  yond  grassy  bank, 

Aiid  he  beheld  a  ladie  gay, 
A  ladie  that  was  brisk  and  bold, 
Come  riding  oer  the  f  ernie  brae. 

2.  Her  skirt  was  of  the  grass-green  silk, 

Her  mantel  of  the  velvet  fine, 
At  ilka  tett  of  her  horse's  mane 
Hung  fifty  silver  bells  and  nine. 

3.  True  Thomas  he  took  off  his  hat. 

And  bowed  him  low  down  till  his  knee : 
"  AU  hail,  thou  mighty  Queen  of  Heaven  ! 
For  your  peer  on  earth  I  never  did  see." 

4.  "O  no,  O  no,  True  Thomas,"  she  says, 

"  That  name  does  not  belong  to  me  ; 
I  am  but  the  queen  of  fair  Elfland, 
And  I  'm  come  here  for  to  visit  thee. 

5.  "  But  ye  maun  go  wi  me  now,  Thomas, 

True  Thomas,  ye  maun  go  wi  me. 
For  ye  maun  serve  me  seven  years, 

Thro  weel  or  wae  as  may  chance  to  be." 

6.  She  turned  about  her  milk-white  steed, 

And  took  True  Thomas  up  behind. 
And  aye  wheneer  her  bridle  rang, 

The  steed  flew  swifter  than  the  wind. 


POPULAR  BALLADS  41 

7.  For  forty  days  and  forty  nights 

He  wade  thro  red  blude  to  the  knee, 
And  he  saw  neither  sun  nor  moon, 
But  heard  the  roaring  of  the  sea. 

8.  O  they  rade  on,  and  further  on, 

Until  they  came  to  a  garden  green : 
"  Light  down,  light  down,  ye  ladie  free. 
Some  of  that  fruit  let  me  puU  to  thee." 

9.  "  O  no,  O  no,  True  Thomas,"  she  says, 

"  That  fruit  maun  not  be  touched  by  thee, 
For  a'  the  plagues  that  are  in  hell 
Light  on  the  fruit  of  this  countrie. 

10.  "  But  I  have  a  loaf  here  in  my  lap. 

Likewise  a  bottle  of  claret  wine. 
And  now  ere  we  go  farther  on, 

We  '11  rest  a  while,  and  ye  may  dine." 

11.  When  he  had  eaten  and  drunk  his  fill, 

"  Lay  down  your  head  upon  my  knee," 
The  lady  sayd,  ^  ere  we  climb  yon  hill. 
And  I  will  show  you  fairlies  three. 

12.  "  O  see  not  ye  yon  narrow  road. 

So  thick  beset  wi  thorns  and  briers  ? 
That  is  the  path  of  righteousness, 
Tho  after  it  but  few  enquires. 

13.  "  And  see  not  ye  that  braid  braid  road, 

That  lies  across  yon  lillie  leven  ? 
That  is  the  path  of  wickedness, 

Tho  some  call  it  the  road  to  heaven. 


42  POPULAR  BALLADS 

14.  "  And  see  not  ye  that  bonnie  road, 

Which  winds  about  the  fernie  brae? 
That  is  the  road  to  fair  Elfland, 

Whe[re]  you  and  I  this  night  maun  gae. 

15.  "  But  Thomas,  ye  maun  hold  your  tongue, 

Whatever  you  may  hear  or  see, 
For  gin  ae  word  you  should  chance  to  speak. 
You  will  neer  get  back  to  your  ain  countrie." 

16.  He  has  gotten  a  coat  of  the  even  cloth, 

And  a  pair  of  shoes  of  velvet  green. 
And  till  seven  years  were  past  and  gone 
True  Thomas  on  earth  was  never  seen. 


THE   WEE   WEE   MAN 

1.  As  I  was  wa'king  all  alone, 

Between  a  water  and  a  wa, 
And  there  I  spy'd  a  wee  wee  man, 
And  he  was  the  least  that  ere  I  saw. 

2.  His  legs  were  scarce  a  shathmont's  length, 

And  thick  and  thimber  was  his  thigh; 
Between  his  brows  there  was  a  span, 

And  between  his  shoulders  there  was  three, 

3.  He  took  up  a  meikle  stane. 

And  he  flang  't  as  far  as  I  could  see ; 
Though  I  had  been  a  Wallace  wight, 
I  coiddua  liften  't  to  my  knee. 


POPULAR  BALLADS  43 

4.  "  O  wee  wee  man,  but  thou  be  Strang ! 

O  tell  me  where  thy  dwelling;  be  ?  " 
"  My  dwelling  's  down  at  yon  bonny  bower ; 
O  will  you  go  with  me  and  see  ?  " 

5.  On  we  lap,  and  awa  we  rade, 

Till  we  came  to  yon  bonny  green ; 
We  lighted  down  for  to  bait  our  horse, 
And  out  there  came  a  lady  fine. 

6.  Four  and  twenty  at  her  back, 

And  they  were  a'  clad  out  in  green  ; 
Though  the  King  of  Scotland  had  been  there, 
The  warst  o  them  might  hae  been  his  queen. 

7.  On  we  lap,  and  awa  we  rade. 

Till  we  came  to  yon  bonny  ha, 
Whare  the  roof  was  o  the  beaten  gould, 
And  the  floor  was  o  the  cristal  a'. 

8.  When  we  came  to  the  stair-foot, 

Ladies  were  dancing,  jimp  and  sma, 
But  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye. 
My  wee  wee  man  was  clean  awa. 


SWEET   WILLIAMS   GHOST 

1.  Whan  bells  war  rung,  an  mass  was  sung, 
A  wat  a'  man  to  bed  were  gone, 
Clark  Sanders  came  to  Margret's  window, 
With  n)ony  a  sad  sigh  and  groan. 


44  POPULAR  BALLADS 

2.  "  Are  ye  sleeping,  Margret,"  he  says, 

"  Or  are  ye  waking,  presentlie  ? 
Give  me  my  faith  and  trouthe  again, 
A  wat,  trew-love,  I  gied  to  thee." 

3.  "  Your  faith  and  trouth  ye  's  never  get. 

Nor  our  trew  love  shall  never  twain. 
Till  ye  come  with  me  in  my  bower, 
And  kiss  me  both  cheek  and  chin." 

4.  "  My  mouth  it  is  full  cold,  Margret, 

It  has  the  smell  now  of  the  groimd ; 
And  if  I  kiss  thy  comely  mouth, 
Thy  life-days  will  not  be  long. 

5.  "  Cocks  are  crowing  a  merry  mid-larf, 

I  wat  the  wild  f  ule  boded  day ; 
Gie  me  my  faith  and  trouthe  again. 
And  let  me  fare  me  on  my  way." 

6.  "  Thy  faith  and  trouth  thou  shall  na  get, 

Nor  our  trew  love  shall  never  twin, 
Till  ye  tell  me  what  comes  of  women 
A  wat  that  dy's  in  strong  travelling." 

7.  "  Their  beds  are  made  in  the  heavens  high, 

Down  at  the  foot  of  our  good  Lord's  knee, 
Well  set  about  wi  gilly-flowers, 
A  wat  sweet  company  for  to  see. 

8.  "  O  cocks  are  crowing  a  merry  midd-larf, 

A  wat  the  •svilde  foule  boded  day ; 
The  salms  of  Heaven  will  be  sung, 
And  ere  now  I  'le  be  misst  away." 


POPULAR  BALLADS  45 

9.  Up  she  has  tain  a  bright  long  wand, 

And  she  has  straked  her  trouth  thereon ; 
She  has  given  (it)  him  out  at  the  shot-window, 
Wi  many  a  sad  sigh  and  heavy  groan. 

10.  "  I  thank  you,  Margret,  I  thank  you,  Margret, 

And  I  thank  you  hartilie ; 
Gine  ever  the  dead  come  for  the  quick, 

Be  sure,  Margret,  I  '11  come  again  for  thee." 

11.  It 's  hose  an  shoon  an  gound  alane 

She  clame  the  wall  and  followed  him, 
Untill  she  came  to  a  green  forest. 
On  this  she  lost  the  sight  of  him. 

12.  "  Is  their  any  room  at  your  head,  Sanders? 

Is  their  any  room  at  your  feet? 
*    Or  any  room  at  your  twa  sides  ? 
Whare  fain,  fain  woud  I  sleep." 

13.  "  Their  is  na  room  at  my  head,  Margret, 

Their  is  ua  room  at  my  feet ; 
There  is  room  at  my  twa  sides. 
For  ladys  for  to  sleep. 

14.  "  Cold  meal  is  my  covering  owre, 

But  an  my  winding  sheet ; 
My  bed  it  is  full  low,  I  say, 

Down  among  the  hongerey  worms  I  sleep. 

15.  "  Cold  meal  is  my  covering  owre, 

But  an  my  winding  sheet ; 
The  dew  it  falls  na  sooner  down 
Then  ay  it  is  full  weet." 


46  POPULAR  BALLADS 

THE   WIFE   OF  USHER'S   WELL 

1.  There  lived  a  wife  at  Usher's  Well, 

And  a  wealthy  wife  was  she ; 
She  had  three  stout  and  stalwart  sons, 
AAd  sent  them  oer  the  sea. 

2.  They  hadna  been  a  week  from  her, 

A  week  but  barely  ane, 
Whan  word  came  to  the  carline  wife 
That  her  three  sons  were  gane. 

3.  They  hadna  been  a  week  from  her, 

A  week  but  barely  three, 
Whkn  word  came  to  the  carlin  wife 
That  her  sons  she  'd  never  see. 

4.  "  I  wish  the  wind  may  never  cease, 

Nor  fashes  in  the  flood, 
Till  my  three  sons  come  hame  to  me, 
In  earthly  flesh  and  blood." 

•■'  ■'    /  ■ 
6.  It  fell  about  the  Martinmass, 

When  nights  are  lang  and  mirk, 
The  carlin  wife's  three  sons  came  hame, 
And  their  hats  were  o  the  birk. 

6.  It  neither  grew  in  syke  nor  ditch, 
Nor  yet  in  ony  sheugh  ; 
But  at  the  gates  o  Paradise, 
That  birk  grew  fair  eneugh. 


POPULAR  BALLADS  47 

7.  "  Blow  up  the  fire,  my  maidens, 

Bring  water  from  the  well ; 
For  a'  my  house  shall  feast  this  night, 
Since  my  three  sons  are  well." 

8.  And  she  has  made  to  them  a  bed, 

She  's  ufade  it  large  and  wide. 
And  she  's  taen  her  mantle  her  about, 
Sat  down  at  the  bed-side. 


9.  Up  then  crew  the  red,  red  cock, 
And  up  and  crew  the  gray ; 
The  eldest  to  the  youngest  said, 
"  'T  is  time  we  were  away." 

10.  The  cock  he  hadna  crawd  but  once. 

And  clappd  his  wings  at  a', 
When  the  youngest  to  the  eldest  said, 
"  Brother,  we  must  awa. 

11.  "  The  cock  doth  craw,  the  day  doth  daw, 

The  channerin  worm  doth  chide ; 
Gin  we  be  mist  out  o  our  place, 
A  sair  pain  we  maun  bide. 

12.  "  Faer  ye  weel,  my  mother  dear! 

Fareweel  to  barn  and  byre  ! 
And  fare  ye  weel,  the  bonny  lass 
That  kindles  my  mother's  fire !  " 


48  POPULAR  BALLADS 


KEMP   OWYNE 


1.  Her  mother  died  when  she  was  young, 

Which  gave  her  cause  to  make  great  moan; 
Her  father  married  the  warst  woman 
That  ever  lived  in  Christendom. 

2.  She  served  her  with  foot  and  hand, 

In  every  thing  that  she  could  dee, 
Till  once,  in  an  unlucky  time. 

She  threw  her  in  ower  Craigy's  sea. 

3.  Says,  "  Lie  you  there,  dove  Isabel, 

And  all  my  sorrows  lie  with  thee ; 
Till  Kemp  Owyne  come  ower  the  sea, 

And  borrow  you  with  kisses  three, 
Let  all  the  warld  do  what  they  will. 

Oh  borrowed  shall  you  never  be  !  " 

4.  Her  breath  grew  Strang,  her  hair  grew  lang, 

And  twisted  thrice  about  the  tree. 
And  all  the  people,  far  and  near. 

Thought  that  a  savage  beast  was  she. 

6.  These  news  did  come  to  Kemp  Owyne, 
Where  he  lived,  far  beyond  the  sea ; 
He  hasted  him  to  Craigy's  sea, 

And  on  the  savage  beast  lookd  he. 

6.  Her  breath  was  Strang,  her  hair  was  lang, 
And  twisted  was  about  the  tree. 
And  with  a  swing  she  came  about : 

"  Come  to  Craigy's  sea,  and  kiss  with  me. 


POPULAR  BALLADS  49 

7.  "  Here  is  a  royal  belt,"  she  cried, 

"  That  I  have  found  in  the  green  sea ; 
And  while  your  body  it  is  on, 

Dra\vn  shall  your  blood  never  be  ; 
But  if  you  touch  me,  tail  or  fin, 

I  vow  my  belt  your  death  shall  be." 

8.  He  stepped  in,  gave  her  a  kiss. 

The  royal  belt  he  brought  him  wi ; 
Her  breath  was  Strang,  her  hair  was  lang, 

And  twisted  twice  about  the  tree. 
And  with  a  swing  she  came  about : 

"  Come  to  Craigy's  sea,  and  kiss  with  me. 

9.  "  Here  is  a  royal  ring,"  she  said, 

"  That  I  have  found  in  the  green  sea ; 
And  while  your  finger  it  is  on, 

Drawn  shall  your  blood  never  be ; 
But  if  you  touch  me,  tail  or  fin, 

I  swear  my  ring  your  death  shall  be." 

10.  He  stepped  in,  gave  her  a  kiss. 

The  royal  ring  he  brought  him  wi ; 
Her  breath  was  Strang,  her  hair  was  lang, 

And  twisted  ance  about  the  tree. 
And  with  a  swing  she  came  about : 

"  Come  to  Craigy's  sea,  and  kiss  with  me. 

11.  "  Here  is  a  royal  brand,"  she  said, 

"  That  I  have  found  in  the  green  sea ; 
And  while  your  body  it  is  on, 

Drawn  shall  your  blood  never  be ; 
But  if  you  touch  me,  tail  or  fin, 

I  swear  my  brand  your  death  shall  be." 


50  POPULAR   BALLADS 

12.  He  stepped  in,  gave  her  a  kiss, 

The  royal  brand  he  brought  him  wi ; 

Her  breath  was  sweet,  her  hair  grew  short, 
And  twisted  nane  about  the  tree. 

And  smilingly  she  came  about. 
As  fair  a  woman  as  fair  could  be. 


THE   D^MON  LOVER 

1.  "  O  WHERE  have  you  been,  my  long,  long  love, 

This  long  seven  years  and  mair  ?  " 
"  O  I  'm  come  to  seek  my  former  vows 
Ye  granted  me  before." 

2.  "  O  hold  your  tongue  of  your  former  vows, 

For  they  will  breed  sad  strife  ; 

0  hold  your  tongue  of  your  former  vows, 
For  I  am  become  a  wife." 

3.  He  turned  him  right  and  round  about. 

And  the  tear  blinded  his  ee  : 
"  I  wad  never  hae  trodden  on  Irish  ground, 
If  it  had  not  been  for  thee. 

4.  "  I  might  hae  had  a  king's  daughter. 

Far,  far  beyond  the  sea ; 

1  might  have  had  a  king's  daughter. 

Had  it  not  been  for  love  o  thee." 

5.  "  If  ye  might  have  had  a  king's  daughter, 

Yersel  ye  had  to  blame  ; 
Ye  might  have  had  taken  the  king's  daughter, 
For  ve  kend  that  I  was  nane. 


POPULAR  BALLADS  51 

6.  "If  I  was  to  leave  ray  husband  dear, 

And  my  two  babes  also, 

0  what  have  you  to  take  me  to, 
If  with  you  I  should  go  ?  " 

7.  "I  hae  seven  ships  upon  the  sea  — 

The  eio'hth  brou"ht  nie  to  land  — 
With  four-and-twenty  bold  mariners, 
And  music  on  every  hand." 

8.  She  has  taken  up  her  two  little  babes, 

Kissd  them  baith  cheek  and  chin  : 
"  O  fair  ye  weel,  my  ain  two  babes, 
For  I  '11  never  see  you  again." 

9.  She  set  her  foot  upon  the  ship, 

No  mariners  could  she  behold ; 
But  the  sails  were  o  the  taffetie, 
And  the  masts  o  the  beaten  gold. 

10.  She  had  not  sailed  a  league,  a  league, 

A  league  but  barely  three. 
When  dismal  grew  his  countenance. 
And  drumlie  grew  his  ee. 

11.  They  had  not  saild  a  league,  a  league, 

A  league  but  barely  three, 
Until  she  espied  his  cloven  foot. 
And  she  wept  right  bitterlie. 

12.  "O  hold  your  tongue  of  your  weeping,"  says  he, 

"  Of  your  weeping  now  let  me  be  ; 

1  will  shew  you  how  the  lilies  grow 

On  the  banks  of  Italy." 


52  POPULAR  BALLADS 

13.  "  O  what  hills  are  yon,  yon  pleasant  hills, 

That  the  sun  shines  sweetly  on  ?  " 
"  O  yon  are  the  hills  of  heaven,"  he  said, 
"  Where  you  will  never  win." 

14.  "  O  whaten  a  mountain  is  yon,"  she  said, 

"  All  so  dreary  wi  frost  and  snow  ?  " 
«  O  yon  is  the  mountain  of  hell,"  he  cried, 
"  Where  you  and  I  will  go." 

15.  He  strack  the  tap-mast  wi  his  hand, 

The  fore-mast  wi  his  knee, 
And  he  brake  that  gallant  ship  in  twain, 
And  sank  her  in  the  sea. 


HUGH   OF   LINCOLN 

1.  Four  and  twenty  bonny  boys 

Were  playing  at  the  ba. 
And  by  it  came  him  sweet  Sir  Hugh, 
And  he  playd  oer  them  a'. 

2.  He  kicked  the  ba  with  his  right  foot. 

And  catchd  it  wi  his  knee, 
And  throuch-and-thro  the  Jew's  window 
He  gard  the  bonny  ba  flee. 

3.  He  's  doen  him  to  the  Jew's  casteU, 

And  walkd  it  round  about ; 
And  there  he  saw  the  Jew's  daughter, 
At  the  window  looking  out. 


POPULAR   BALLADS  53 

4.  "  Throw  down  the  ba,  ye  Jew's  daughter, 
Throw  down  the  ba  to  me ! " 
"  Never  a  bit,"  says  the  Jew's  daughter, 
"  Till  up  to  me  come  ye." 

6.  "  How  wiU  I  come  up  ?   How  can  I  come  up  ? 
How  can  I  come  to  thee  ? 
For  as  ye  did  to  my  auld  father, 
The  same  ye  '11  do  me." 

6.  She  's  gane  till  her  father's  garden, 

And  pu'd  an  apple  red  and  green  ; 
'T  was  a'  to  wyle  him  sweet  Sir  Hugh, 
And  to  entice  him  in. 

7.  She  's  led  him  in  through  ae  dark  door. 

And  sae  has  she  thro  nine; 
She  's  laid  him  on  a  dressing-table. 
And  stickit  him  like  a  swine. 

8.  And  first  came  out  the  thick,  thick  blood, 

And  syne  came  out  the  thin, 
And  syne  came  out  the  bonny  heart's  blood ; 
There  was  nae  mair  within. 

9.  She  's  rowd  him  in  a  cake  o  lead. 

Bade  him  lie  still  and  sleep  ; 
She  's  thrown  him  in  Our  Lady's  draw-well. 
Was  fifty  fathom  deep. 

10.   When  bells  were  rung,  and  mass  was  sung. 
And  a'  the  bairns  came  hame. 
When  every  lady  gat  hame  her  son. 
The  Lady  Maisry  gat  nane. 


54  POPULAR  BALLAPS 

11.  She  's  taen  her  mantle  her  about, 

Her  coffer  by  the  hand, 
And  she  's  gane  out  to  seek  her  son, 
And  wanderd  oer  the  land. 

12.  She's  doen  her  to  the  Jew's  castell, 

Where  a'  were  fast  asleep : 
"  Gin  ye  be  there,  my  sweet  Sir  Hugh, 
I  pray  you  to  me  speak." 

13.  She 's  doen  her  to  the  Jew's  garden. 

Thought  he  had  been  gathering  fruit : 
"  Gin  ye  be  there,  my  sweet  Sir  Hugh, 
I  pray  you  to  me  sjseak." 

14.  She  neard  Our  Lady's  deep  draw-well, 

Was  fifty  fathom  deep  : 
"  Whareer  ye  be,  my  sweet  Sir  Hugh, 
I  pray  you  to  me  speak." 

15.  "  Gae  hame,  gae  hame,  my  mither  dear. 

Prepare  my  winding  sheet, 
And  at  the  back  o  merry  Lincoln 
The  morn  I  will  you  meet." 

16.  Now  Lady  Maisry  is  gane  hame. 

Made  him  a  winding  sheet, 
And  at  the  back  o  merry  Lincoln 
The  dead  corpse  did  her  meet. 

17.  And  a'  the  bells  o  merry  Lincoln 

Without  men's  hands  were  rung, 


POPULAR  BALLADS  55 

And  a'  the  books  o  merry  Lincoln 
Were  read  without  man's  tongue, 

And  neer  was  such  a  burial 
Sin  Adam's  days  begun. 


YOUNG   BICHAM 

1.  In  London  city  was  Bicham  born, 

He  longd  strange  countries  for  to  see, 
But  he  was  taen  by  a  savage  Moor, 
Who  handld  him  right  cruely. 

2.  For  thro  his  shoulder  he  put  a  bore, 

An  thro  the  bore  has  pitten  a  tree, 
An  he  's  gard  him  draw  the  carts  o  wine. 
Where  horse  and  oxen  had  wont  to  be. 

3.  He  's  casten  [him]  in  a  dungeon  deep, 

Where  he  coud  neither  hear  nor  see  ; 
He 's  shut  him  up  in  a  prison  strong, 
An  he 's  handld  him  right  cruely. 

4.  O  this  Moor  he  had  but  ae  daughter, 

1  wot  her  name  was  Shusy  Pye  ; 
She's  doen  her  to  the  prison-house, 

And  she 's  ealld  Young  Bicham  one  word  by. 

5.  "  O  hae  ye  ony  lands  or  rents, 

Or  citys  in  your  ain  country, 
Coud  free  you  out  of  prison  strong, 
An  coud  mantain  a  lady  free  ?  " 


56  POPULAR  BALLADS 

6.  "  O  London  city  is  my  own, 

An  other  citys  twa  or  three 
Coud  loose  me  out  o  prison  strong, 
An  coud  mantain  a  lady  free." 

7.  O  she  has  bribed  her  father's  men 

Wi  meikle  goud  and  white  money. 

She  's  gotten  the  key  o  the  prison  doors, 

An  she  has  set  Young  Bicham  free. 

8.  She 's  gi'n  him  a  loaf  o  good  white  bread. 

But  an  a  flask  o  Spanish  wine, 
An  she  bad  him  mind  on  the  ladle's  love 
That  sae  kindly  freed  him  out  o  pine. 

9.  "  Go  set  your  foot  on  good  ship-board, 

An  haste  you  back  to  your  ain  country, 
An  before  that  seven  years  has  an  end. 
Come  back  again,  love,  and  marry  me.'^ 

10.  It  was  long  or  seven  years  had  an  end 

She  longd  fu  sair  her.  love  to  see ; 
She  's  set  her  foot  on  good  ship-board. 
An  turnd  her  back  on  her  ain  country. 

11.  She  's  saild  up,  so  has  she  doun. 

Till  she  came  to  the  other  side ; 
She  's  landed  at  Young  Bicham's  gates, 
An  I  hop  this  day  she  sal  be  his  bride. 

12.  ♦'  Is  this  Young  Bicham's  gates?  "  says  she, 

"  Or  is  that  noble  prince  within  ?  " 

"  He  's  up  the  stairs  wi  his  bonny  bride, 

An  monny  a  lord  and  lady  wi  him." 


POPULAR   BALLADS  57 

13.  "  O  has  he  taen  a  bonny  bride, 

An  has  he  clean  forgotten  me !  " 
An  sighing  said  that  gay  hidy, 

"  I  wish  I  were  in  my  ain  country !  " 

14.  But  she  's  pitten  her  han  in  her  pocket, 

An  gin  the  porter  guineas  three  ; 
Says,  "  Take  ye  that,  ye  proud  porter, 
An  bid  the  bridegroom  speak  to  me." 

15.  O  whan  the  porter  came  up  the  stair. 

He  's  fa'n  low  down  upon  his  knee : 
"  Won  up,  won  up,  ye  proud  porter. 
An  what  makes  a'  this  courtesy  ?  " 

16.  "01  've  been  porter  at  your  gates 

This  mair  nor  seven  years  an  three, 
But  there  is  a  lady  at  them  now 
The  like  of  whom  I  never  did  see. 

17.  "  For  on  every  finger  she  has  a  ring, 

An  on  the  mid-finger  she  has  three. 
An  there 's  as  meikle  goud  aboon  her  brow 
As  woud  buy  an  earldome  o  Ian  to  me." 

18.  Then  up  it  started  Young  Bicham, 

An  sware  so  loud  by  Our  Lady, 
"  It  can  be  nane  but  Shusy  Bye, 
That  has  come  oer  the  sea  to  me." 

19.  O  quickly  ran  he  down  the  stair, 

O  fifteen  steps  he  has  made  but  three  ; 
He  's  tane  his  bonny  love  in  his  arms, 
An  a  wot  he  kissd  her  tenderly. 


58  POPULAR   BALLADS 

20.  "  O  liae  you  tane  a  bonny  bride  ? 

An  liae  you  quite  forsaken  me? 
An  hae  ye  quite  forgotten  her 
That  gae  you  life  an  liberty?  " 

21.  She 's  lookit  oer  her  left  shoulder 

To  hide  the  tears  stood  in  her  ee ; 
"  Now   fare    thee    well,   Young  Bicham,"   she 
says, 
"  I  '11  strive  to  think  nae  raair  on  thee." 

22.  "  Take  back  your  daughter,  madam,"  he  says, 

"  An  a  double  dowry  I  '11  gi  her  wi ; 
For  I  maun  marry  my  first  true  love, 

That 's  done  and  suffered  so  much  for  me." 

23.  He 's  take  his  bonny  love  by  the  han, 

And  led  her  to  yon  fountain  stane ; 
He  's  changd  her  name  frae  Shusy  Pye, 

An  he  's  cald  her  his  bonny  love,  Lady  Jane. 


GET  UP  AND   BAR   THE   DOOR 

1.  It  fell  about  the  Martinmas  time, 

And  a  gay  time  it  was  then, 
When  our  good  wife  got  puddings  to  make. 
And  she  's  boild  them  in  the  pan. 

2.  The  wind  sae  cauld  blew  south  and  north, 

And  blew  into  the  floor  ; 
Quoth  our  goodman  to  our  goodwife, 
"  Gae  out  and  bar  the  door." 


POPULAR  BALLADS  59 

3.  "  My  hand  is  in  my  liussyfskap, 

Goodman,  as  ye  may  see  ; 
An  it  shoiid  nae  be  barrd  this  hundred  year, 
It 's  no  be  barrd  for  me." 

4.  They  made  a  paction  tween  them  twa, 

They  made  it  firm  and  sure, 
That  the  first  word  whaeer  shoud  speak, 
Shoud  rise  and  bar  the  door. 

5.  Then  by  there  came  two  gentlemen, 

At  twelve  o'clock  at  night. 
And  they  could  neither  see  house  nor  hall, 
Nor  coal  nor  candle-light. 

6.  "  Now  whether  is  this  a  rich  man's  house. 

Or  whether  is  it  a  poor?  " 
But  neer  a  word  wad  ane  o  them  speak, 
For  barring  of  the  door. 

7.  And  first  they  ate  the  white  puddings, 
.    And  then  they  ate  the  black ; 

Tho  muckle  thought  the  good  wife  to  hersel. 
Yet  neer  a  word  she  spake. 

8.  Then  said  the  one  unto  the  other, 

"  Here,  man,  tak  ye  my  knife  ; 
Do  ye  tak  aff  the  auld  man's  beard. 
And  I  'U  kiss  the  goodwife." 

9.  "  But  there 's  nae  water  in  the  house, 

And  what  shall  we  do  than?" 
"  What  ails  thee  at  the  pudding-broo, 
That  boils  into  the  pan  ?  " 


60  POPULAR   BALLADS 

10.  O  up  then  started  our  goodman, 

An  angry  man  was  he  : 
"  Will  ye  kiss  my  wife  before  my  een, 
And  scad  me  wi  pudding-bree  ?  " 

11.  Then  up  and  started  our  good  wife, 

Gied  three  skips  on  the  floor : 
"  Goodman,  you  've  sf)oken  the  foremost  word, 
Get  up  and  bar  the  door." 


THE   BATTLE   OF  OTTERBURN 

1.  It  fell  about  the  Lammvis  time, 

When  the  muir-men  won  their  hay, 
That  the  doughty  Earl  Douglas  went 
Into  England  to  catch  a  prey. 

2.  He  chose  the  Gordons  and  the  Graemes, 

With  the  Lindsays  light  and  gay ; 
But  the  Jardines  wadna  wi  him  ride,     • 
And  they  rued  it  to  this  day. 

3.  And  he  has  burnt  the  dales  o  Tine 

And  part  of  Almonshire. 
And  three  good  towers  on  Roxburgh  fells 
He- left  them  all  on  fire. 

4.  Then  he  marched  up  to  Newcastle, 

And  rode  it  round  about: 
"  O  whae  's  the  lord  of  this  castle, 
Or  whae 's  the  lady  o  't  ?  " 


POPULAR  BALLADS  61 

5.  But  up  spake  proud  Lord  Piercy  then, 

And  O  but  he  spak  hie ! 
*'  I  aui  the  lord  of  this  castle, 
And  my  wife 's  the  lady  gaye." 

6.  "  If  you  are  lord  of  this  castle, 

Sae  weel  it  pleases  me  ; 
For  ere  I  cross  the  border  again 
The  ane  of  us  shall  die." 

7.  He  took  a  lang  speir  in  his  hand, 

Was  made  of  the  metal  free, 
And  for  to  meet  the  Douglas  then 
He  rode  most  furiously. 

8.  But  O  how  pale  his  lady  lookd, 

Frae  off  the  castle  wa, 
When  down  before  the  Scottish  spear 
She  saw  brave  Piercy  fa ! 

9.  How  pale  and  wan  his  lady  lookd, 

Frae  off  the  castle  hieght, 
When  she  beheld  her  Piercy  yield 
~     To  Doughty  Douglas'  might ! 

10.  "  Had  we  twa  been  upon  the  green. 

And  never  an  eye  to  see, 
I  should  have  had  ye  flesh  and  fell ; 
But  your  sword  shall  gae  wi  me." 

11.  "But  gae  you  up  to  Otterburn, 

And  there  wait  dayes  three, 
And  if  I  come  not  ere  three  days'  end 
A  fause  lord  ca  ye  me." 


62  POPULAR  BALLADS 

12.  "  The  Otterburn  's  a  bonny  burn, 

'T  is  pleasant  there  to  be, 
But  there  is  naught  at  Otterburn 
To  feed  my  men  and  me. 

13.  "  The  deer  rins  wild  owr  hill  and  dale, 

The  birds  fly  wild  frae  tree  to  tree, 
And  there  is  neither  bread  nor  kale 
To  fend  my  men  and  me. 

14.  "  But  I  will  stay  at  Otterburn, 

Where  you  shall  welcome  be  ; 
And  if  ye  come  not  at  three  days'  end 
A  coward  I  '11  ca  thee." 

15.  "  Then  gae  your  ways  to  Otterburn, 

And  there  wait  dayes  three ; 
And  if  I  come  not  ere  three  days'  end 
A  coward  ye's  ca  me." 

16.  They  lighted  high  on  Otterburn, 

Upon  the  bent  so  brown, 
They  lighted  high  on  Otterburn, 
And  threw  their  pallions  down. 

17.  And  he  that  had  a  bonny  boy 

Sent  his  horses  to  grass, 
And  he  that  had  not  a  bonny  boy 
His  ain  servant  he  was. 

18.  But  up  then  spak  a  little  page, 

Before  the  peep  of  the  dawn ; 
"  O  waken  ye,  waken  ye,  my  good  lord, 
For  PiercY  's  hard  at  hand !  " 


POPULAR  BALLADS  63 

19.  "  Ye  lie,  ye  lie,  ye  loud  liar, 

Sae  loud  I  hear  ye  lie ! 
The  Piercy  hadna  men  yestreen 
To  dight  my  men  and  me. 

20.  "  But  I  have  seen  a  dreary  dream, 

Beyond  the  isle  o  Sky  ; 
I  saw  a  dead  man  won  the  fight, 
And  I  think  that  man  was  I." 

21.  He  belted  on  his  good  broad-sword 

And  to  the  field  he  ran. 
Where  he  met  wi  the  proud  Piercy, 
And  a'  his  goodly  train. 

22.  When  Piercy  wi  the  Douglas  met, 

I  wat  he  was  right  keen  ; 
They  swakked  their  swords  till  sair  they  swat, 
And  the  blood  ran  them  between. 

23.  But  Piercy  wi  his  good  broad-sword. 

Was  made  o  the  metal  free, 
Has  wounded  Douglas  on  the  brow 
Till  backward  he  did  flee. 

24.  Then  he  calld  on  his  little  page, 

And  said,  llun  speedily. 
And  bring  my  ain  dear  sister's  son, 
Sir  Hugh  Montgomery. 

25.  [Who,  when  he  sn,w  the  Douglas  bleed. 

His  heart  was  wonder  wae  : 
<'  Now,  by  my  sword,  that  haughty  lord 
Shall  rue  before  he  gae." 


64  POPULAR  BALLADS 

26.  "My  nephew  baulcl,"  the  Douglas  said, 

"  What  boots  the  death  of  aiie  ? 
Last  night  I  dreamed  a  dreary  dream, 
And  I  ken  the  day  's  thy  ain. 

27.  "I  dreamd  I  saw  a  battle  fought 

Beyond  the  isle  o  Sky, 
When  lo !  a  dead  man  wan  the  field, 
And  I  thought  that  man  was  I. 

28.  "  My  wound  is  deep,  I  fain  wad  sleep, 

Nae  niair  I  '11  fighting  see  ; 

Gae  lay  me  in  the  breaken  bush 

That  grows  on  yonder  lee. 

29.  "But  tell  na  ane  of  my  brave  men 

That  I  lye  bleeding  wan. 
But  let  the  name  of  Douglas  stiU 
Be  shouted  in  the  van. 

30.  "  And  bury  me  here  on  this  lee. 

Beneath  the  blooming  briar. 
And  never  let  a  mortal  ken 
A  kindly  Scot  lyes  here." 

31.  He  liftit  up  that  noble  lord, 

Wi  the  saut  tear  in  his  ee. 
And  hid  him  in  the  breaken  bush, 
On  yonder  lily  lee. 

32.  The  moon  was  clear,  the  day  drew  near, 

The  spears  in  flmters  flew, 
But  mony  gallant  Englishman 
Ere  day  the  Scotsman  slew. 


POPULAR   BALLADS  65 

33.  Sii-  Hugh  Montgomery  he  rode 

Thro  all  the  field  in  sight, 
And  loud  the  name  of  Douglas  still 
He  urgd  wi  a'  his  might. 

34.  The  Gordons  good,  in  English  blood 

They  steeped  their  hose  and  shoon, 
The  Lindsays  flew  like  fire  about, 
Till  a'  the  fray  was  doon.] 

35.   When  stout  Sir  Hugh  wi  Piercy  met, 
I  wat  he  was  right  fain  ; 
They  swakked  their  swords  tiU  sair  they  swat, 
And  the  blood  ran  down  like  rain, 

36.  "O  yield  thee,  Piercy,"  said  Sir  Hugh, 

"  O  yield,  or  ye  shall  die !  " 
"Fain  wad  I  yield,"  proud  Piercy  said, 
"  But  neer  to  loun  like  thee." 

37.  "  Thou  shalt  not  yield  to  knave  nor  loun. 

Nor  shalt  thou  yield  to  me ; 
But  yield  thee  to  the  breaken  bush 
That  grows  on  yonder  lee." 

38.  "I  will  not  yield  to  bush  or  brier. 

Nor  will  I  yield  to  thee ; 
But  I  will  yield  to  Lord  Douglas, 
Or  Sir  Hugh  Montgomery." 

39.  [When  Piercy  knew  it  was  Sir  Hugh, 

He  fell  low  on  his  knee, 
But  soon  he  raisd  him  up  again, 
Wi  mickle  courtesy.] 


66  POPULAR  BALLADS 

40.  He  left  not  an  Englishman  on  the  field 

That  he  hadna  either  killd  or  taen 
Ere  his  heart's  blood  was  cauld. 


CHEVY   CHASE 

1.  God  prosper  long  our  noble  hing, 

our  liff es  and  saf tyes  all ! 
A  woeful!  hunting  once  there  did 
in  Cheuy  Chase  befall. 

2.  To  driue  the  deere  with  hound  and  home 

Erie  Pearcy  took  the  way  : 
The  child  may  rue  that  is  vnborne 
the  hunting  of  that  day ! 

3.  The  stout  Erie  of  Northumberland 

a  vow  to  God  did  make 
His  pleasure  in  the  Scottish  woods 
three  somwers  days  to  take, 

4.  The  cheefest  harts  in  Cheuy  C[h]ase 

to  kill  and  beare  away : 
These  tydings  to  Erie  Douglas  came 
in  Scottland,  where  he  lay. 

5.  Who  sent  Erie  Pearcy  present  word 

he  would  prevent  his  sport ; 
The  English  erle,  not  fearing  that, 
did  to  the  woods  resort, 


POPULAR  BALLADS  67 

6.  With  fifteen  hundred  bowmen  hold, 

All  chosen  men  of  might, 
Who  knew  ifull  well  in  time  of  neede 
to  ayme  their  shafts  arright. 

7.  The  gallant  greyhound  [s]  swiftly  ran 

to  chase  the  fallow  deere ; 
On  Munday  they  began  to  hunt, 
ere  daylight  did  appeare. 

8.  And  long  before  high  noone  the  had 

a  hundred  fat  buckes  slaine  ; 
Then  hauing  dined,  the  drouyers  went 
to  rouze  the  deare  againe. 

9.  The  bowmen  mustered  on  the  hills, 

well  able  to  endure  ; 
Theire  backsids  all  with  speciall  care 
that  day  were  guarded  sure. 

10.  The  hounds  ran  swiftly  through  the  woods 

the  nimble  deere  to  take, 
Tlmt  with  their  cryes  the  hills  and  dales 
an  eccho  shrill  did  make. 

11.  Lord  Pearcy  to  the  querry  went 

to  veiw  the  tender  deere  ; 
Quoth  he,  "  Erie  Douglas  promised  once 
this  day  to  meete  me  heere  ; 

12.  "  But  if  I  thought  he  wold  not  come, 

noe  longer  wold  I  stay." 
With  that  a  braue  younge  gentlman 
thus  to  the  eiie  did  say : 


68  POPULAR  BALLADS 

13.  "  Loe,  yonder  doth  Erie  Douglas  come, 

hys  men  in  armour  bright; 
Full  twenty  hundred  Scottish  speres 
all  marching  in  our  sight. 

14.  "  All  men  of  pleasant  Tiuydale, 

fast  by  the  riuer  Tweede  :  " 
"  O  ceaze  yo?^r  sportts !  "  Erie  Pearcy  said, 
"  and  take  yo7/r  bowes  with  speede. 

15.  "And  now  with  me,,  my  countrymen, 

yo?/r  courage  forth  advance  ! 
For  there  was  neuer  chamjjion  yett, 
in  Scottland  nor  in  Ff ranee, 

16.  "  That  euer  did  on  horsbacke  come, 

[but] ,  and  if  my  hap  it  were, 
I  durst  encounter  man  for  man, 
with  him  to  break  a  spere." 

17.  Erie  Douglas  on  bis  milke-white  steede, 

most  like  a  baron  bold, 
Rode  formost  of  his  company, 
whose  armor  shone  like  gold. 

18.  "  Shew  me,"  sayd  bee,  "  whose  men  you  bee 

that  hunt  soe  boldly  heere. 
That  without  my  consent  doe  chase 
and  kill  my  fallow  deere." 

19.  The  first  man  that  did  answer  make 

was  noble  Pearcy  hee. 
Who  sayd,  "  Wee  list  not  to  declare 
nor  shew  whose  men  wee  bee ; 


POPULAR  BALLADS  69 

20.  "  Yett  wee  will  spend  our  deeiest  blood 

thy  clieefest  harts  to  slay." 
Then  Douglas  swore  a  solempne  oathe, 
and  thus  in  rage  did  say : 

21.  "  Ere  thus  I  will  outbraued  bee, 

one  of  vs  tow  shall  dye  ; 
I  know  thee  well,  an  erle  thou  art ; 
Lord  Pearcy,  soe  am  I. 

22.  "  But  trust  me,  Pearcye,  pittye  it  were, 

amd  great  offence,  to  kill 
Then  any  of  these  our  guiltlesse  men, 
for  they  haue  done  none  ill. 

23.  "  Let  thou  and  I  the  battell  trye, 

and  set  our  men  aside  :  " 
"  Accurst  bee  [he !]  "  Erie  Pearcye  sayd, 
"  by  whome  it  is  denyed." 

24.  Then  stept  a  gallant  squire  forth  — 

Witherington  was  his  name  — 

Who  said,  "  I  wold  not  haue  it  told 

To  Henery  our  kiwf/,  for  shame, 

25.  "  That  ere  my  captaine  fought  on  foote, 

and  I  stand  looking  on. 
You  bee  two  Paries,"  q?^otli  Witherington, 
"  and  I  a  squier  alone  ; 

26.  "I  'le  doe  the  best  that  doe  I  may, 

while  I  haue  power  to  stand  ; 
While  I  haue  power  to  weeld  my  sword, 
I  'le  figlit  wtth  hart  and  hand." 


70  POPULAR   BALLADS 

27.  Our  English  archers  bent  thierbowes; 

their  harts  were  good  and  trew ; 
Att  the  first  flight  of  arrowes  sent, 
full  foure  score  Scotts  the  slew. 

28.  To  driue  the  deere  with  hound  and  home, 

Dauglas  bade  on  the  bent ; 
Two  captaines  moued  with  mickle  might, 
their  speres  to  shiuers  went. 

29.  They  closed  full  fast  on  euerye  side, 

noe  slacknes  there  was  found, 
But  many  a  gallant  gentleman 
lay  gasping  on  the  ground. 

30.  O  Christ !  it  was  great  greeue  to  see 

how  eche  man  chose  his  spere, 
And  how  the  blood  out  of  their  brests 
did  gush  like  water  cleare. 

31.  At  last  these  two  stout  erles  did  meet, 

like  captaines  of  great  might ; 
Like  lyons  woode  they  layd  on  lode  ; 
the  made  a  cruell  fight. 

32.  The  fought  vntill  they  both  did  sweat, 

with  swords  of  tempered  Steele, 
Till  blood  downe  their  cheekes  like  raine 
the  trickling  downe  did  feele. 

33.  "  O  yeeld  thee,  Pearcye  !  "  Douglas  sayd, 

"  And  in  faith  I  will  thee  bringe 
Where  thou  shall  high  advanced  bee 
by  lames  our  Scottish  king. 


POPULAR  BALLADS  71 

34.  "  Thy  ransome  I  will  freely  giue, 

and  this  report  of  thee, 
Thou  art  the  most  couragious  knight 
[that  ever  I  did  see.]  " 

35.  "  Noe,  Douglas  I  "  quoth  Erie  Percy  then, 

"  thy  profer  I  doe  scorne  ; 
I  wiU  not  yeelde  to  any  Scott 
that  euer  yett  was  borne  ! " 

36.  With  that  there  came  an  arrow  keene, 

out  of  an  English  bow, 
Which  stroke  Erie  Douglas  on  the  brest 
a  deepe  and  deadlye  blow. 

37.  Who  neuer  sayd  more  words  than  these  ; 

"  Fight  on,  my  merry  men  all ! 
For  why,  my  life  is  att  [an]  end, 
lord  Pearcy  sees  my  fall." 

38.  Then  leauing  liffe,  Erie  Pearcy  tooke 

the  dead  man  by  the  hand ; 
Who  said,  "  Erie  Dowglas,  for  thy  life, 
wold  I  had  lost  my  land ! 

39.  "  O  Christ !  my  verry  hart  doth  bleed 

for  sorrow  for  thy  sake. 
For  sure,  a  more  redoubted  knight 
mischance  cold  neuer*  take." 

40.  A  knight  amongst  the  Scotts  there  was 

which  saw  Erie  Douglas  dye. 
Who  streight  in  hart  did  vow  revenge 
vpon  the  Lord  Pearcye. 


72  POPULAR  BALLADS 

41.  Sir  Hugh  Mountgomerye  was  he  called, 

who,  with  a  spere  full  bright, 

Well  mounted  on  a  gallant  steed, 

ran  feircly  through  the  fight, 

42.  And  past  the  English  archers  all, 

without  all  dread  or  feare, 
And  through  Erie  Percyes  body  then 
he  thrust  his  hatfull  sj^ere. 

43.  W/th  such  a  vehement  force  and  might 

his  body  he  did  gore. 
The  staff  ran  through  the  other  side 
a  large  cloth-yard  and  more. 

44.  Thus  did  both  those  nobles  dye, 

whose  courage  none  cold  staine  ; 
An  English  archer  then  perceiued 
the  noble  erle  was  slaiue. 

45.  He  had  [a]  good  bow  in  his  hand, 

made  of  a  trusty  tree  ; 
An  arrow  of  a  cloth-yard  long 
to  the  hard  head  haled  hee. 

46.  Against  Sir  Hugh  Mountgomerye 

his  shaft  full  right  he  sett ; 
The  grey-goose-winge  that  was  there-on 
in  his  harts  bloode  was  wett. 

47.  This  fight  from  breake  of  day  did  last 

till  setting  of  the  sun, 
For  when  the  rung  the  euening-bell 
the  battele  scarse  was  done. 


POPULAR  BALLADS  73 

48.  With  stout  Erie  Percy  there  was  slaine 

Sir  lohn  of  Egerton, 
Sir  Robert  Harcliffe  and  Sir  William, 
Sir  lames,  that  bold  barron. 

49.  And  with  Sir  George  and  Sir  lames, 

both  kni(//its  of  good  account, 
Good  Sir  Raphe  Rebbye  there  was  slaine, 
whose  prowesse  did  surmount. 

50.  For  Witherington  needs  must  I  wayle 

as  one  in  doleful!  dumpes. 
For  when  his  leggs  were  smitten  of, 
he  fought  vpon  his  stumpes. 

51.  And  with  Erie  Dowglas  there  was  slaine 

Sir  Hugh  Mountgomerye, 
And  Sir  Charles  Morrell,  that  from  feelde 
one  foote  wold  neuer  flee  ; 

52.  Sir  Roger  Heuer  of  HarclifPe  tow, 

his  sisters  sonne  was  hee  ; 
Sir  David  Lamb  well,  well  esteemed, 
but  saved  he  cold  not  bee. 

53.  And  the  LojtZ  Maxwell,  in  like  case, 

with  Douglas  he  did  dye  ; 
Of  twenty  hundred  Scottish  speeres, 
scarce  fifty-fiue  did  flye. 

54.  Of  fifteen  hundred  Englishmen 

went  home  but  fifty-thi*ee  ; 
The  rest  in  Cheuy  Cliase  were  slaine, 
vnder  the  greenwoode  tree. 


74  POPULAR   BALLADS 

55.  Next  day  did  many  widdowes  come 

their  husbands  to  bewayle  ; 
They  washt  their  wounds  in  brinish  teares, 
but  all  wold  not  prevayle. 

56.  Theyr  bodyes,  bathed  in  purple  blood, 

the  bore  with  them  away ; 
They  kist  them  dead  a  thousand  times 
ere  the  were  cladd  in  clay. 

57.  The  newes  was  brought  to  Eddenborrow, 

where  Scottlands  \\.mg  did  rayne, 
T/iat  braue  Erie  Douglas  soddainlye 
was  with  an  arrow  slaine. 

58.  "  O  heauy  newes  !  "  King  lames  can  say ; 

"  Scottland  may  wittenesse  bee 
I  haue  not  any  csqitaine  more 
of  such  account  as  hee." 

59.  Like  ty dings  to  l\.ing  Henery  came, 

within  as  short  a  space, 
That  Pearcy  of  Northumberland 
was  slaine  in  Cheuy  Chase. 

60.  "Now  God  be  with  him!  "  said  our  ^ing, 

"  sith  it  will  noe  better  bee  ; 

I  trust  I  haue  within  my  realme 

fine  hundred  as  good  as  hee. 

61.  "  Yett  shall  not  Scotts  nor  Scottland  say 

but  I  will  vengeance  take. 
And  be  revenged  on  them  all 
for  braue  Erie  Percyes  sake." 


POPULAR  BALLADS  75 

62.  This  vow  the  kiiig  did  well  p^rforme 
after  on  Humble-downe ; 
In  one  day  fifty  knights  were  slajTie, 
with  lords  of  ffreat  renowne. 


63.  And  of  the  rest,  of  small  account, 

did  many  hundreds  dye  : 
Thus  endeth  the  hunting  in  Cheuy  Chase, 
made  by  the  Erie  Pearcye. 

64.  God  saue  our  king,  and  blesse  this  land 

With  plentye,  ioy,  and  peace, 
And  grant  hencforth  that  foule  debate 
twixt  noble  men  may  ceaze ! 


JOHNIE   ARMSTRONG 

1.  There  dwelt  a  man  in  faire  Westmerland, 

lonne  Armestrong  men  did  him  call. 
He  had  nither  lands  nor  rents  coming  in, 
Yet  he  kept  eight  score  men  in  his  haU. 

2.  He  had  horse  and  harness  for  them  all. 

Goodly  steeds  were  all  milke-white  ; 
O  the  golden  bands  an  about  their  necks, 
And  their  weapons,  they  were  aU  alike. 

3.  Newes  then  was  brought  unto  the  king 

That  there  was  sicke  a  won  as  hee, 
That  lived  lyke  a  bold  out-law, 

And  robbed  all  the  north  country. 


76  POPULAR  BALLADS 

4.  The  king  lie  writt  an  letter  then, 

A  letter  which  was  large  and  long ; 
He  signed  it  with  his  owne  hand, 

And  he  promised  to  doe  him  no  wrong. 

5.  When  this  letter  came  lonne  untill. 

His   heart  it  was   as  blythe   as   birds   on   the 
tree : 
"  Never  was  I  sent  for  before  any  king. 

My  father,  my  grandfather,  nor  none  but  mee. 

6.  "  And  if  wee  goe  the  king  before, 

I  would  we  went  most  orderly  ; 
Every  man  of  you  shall  have  his  scarlet  cloak, 
Laced  with  silver  laces  three. 

7.  "  Every  won  of  you  shall  have  his  velvett  coat. 

Laced  with  sillver  lace  so  white ; 
O  the  golden  bands  an  about  your  necks, 
Black  hatts,  white  feathers,  all  alyke." 

8.  By  the  morrow  morninge  at  ten  of  the  clock, 

Towards  Edenburough  gon  was  hee, 
And  with  him  all  his  eight  score  men  ; 

Good  lord,  it  was  a  goodly  sight  for  to  see ! 

9.  When  lonne  came  befower  the  king. 

He  fell  downe  on  his  knee; 
"  O  pardon,  my  soveraine  leige,"  he  said, 
"  O  pardon  my  eight  score  men  and  mee !  " 

10.   "  Thou  shalt  have  no  pardon,  thou  tray  tor  strong, 
For  thy  eight  score  men  nor  thee ; 


POPULAR   BALLADS  77 

For  to-morrow  morning  by  ten  of  the  clock, 
Both  thou  and  them  shall  hang  on  the  gallow- 
tree." 

11.  But  Tonne  looke'd  over  his  left  shoulder, 

Good  Lord,  what  a  grevious  look  looked  hee ! 
Saying,  "  Asking  grace  of  a  graceles  face  — 
Why  there  is  none  for  you  nor  me." 

12.  But  Tonne  had  a  bright  sword  by  his  side, 

And  it  was  made  of  the  mettle  so  free. 
That  had  not  the  king  stept  his  foot  aside, 

He  had  smitten  his  head  from  his  faire  bodde. 

13.  Saying,  "  Fight  on,  my  merry  men  all. 

And  see  that  none  of  you  be  taine ; 
For  rather  then  men  shall  say  we  were  hange'd, 
Let  them  report  how  we  were  slaine." 

14.  Then,  God  wott,  faire  Eddenburrough  rose. 

And  so  besett  poore  Tonne  rounde. 
That  fowerscore  and  tenn  of  Tonnes  best  men 
Lay  gasping  all  upon  the  ground. 

15.  Then  like  a  mad  man  Tonne  laide  about, 

And  like  a  mad  man  then  fought  hee, 
UntiU  a  falce  Scot  came  Tonne  behinde, 
And  runn  him  through  the  faire  boddee. 

16.  Saying,  "  Fight  on,  my  merry  men  all, 

And  see  that  none  of  you  be  taine ; 
For  T  will  stand  l)y  and  Vileed  but  awhile. 
And  then  will  1  come  and  fight  againe." 


78  POPULAR   BALLADS 

17.  Newes  then  was  brought  to  young  lonne  Arme- 
strong, 
As  he  stood  by  his  nurses  knee, 
Who  vowed  if  ere  he  live'd  for  to  be  a  man, 
O  the  treacherous  Scots  revengd  hee'd  be. 


CAPTAIN   CAR 

1.  It  befell  at  Martynmas, 

When  wether  waxed  colde, 

Captaine  Care  said  to  his  men, 

We  must  go  take  a  holde. 

Syck,  sike,  and  to-towe  sike, 
And  sike  and  like  to  die ; 

The  sikest  nighte  that  euer  I  abode, 
God  lord  haue  mercy  on  me  ! 

2.  "  Haille,  master,  and  wether  you  will, 

And  wether  ye  like  it  best  "  ; 
"  To  the  castle  of  Crecrynbroghe, 
And  there  we  will  take  our  reste." 

3.  "  I  knowe  wher  is  a  gay  castle. 

Is  builded  of  lyme  and  stone ; 
Within  their  is  a  gay  ladie. 
Her  lord  is  riden  and  gone." 

4.  The  ladie  she  lend  on  her  castle-walle. 

She  loked  vpp  and  downe  ; 
There  was  she  ware  of  an  host  of  men, 
Come  riding;  to  the  towne. 


POPULAR  BALLADS  79 

5.  "  Se  yow,  iny  meri  men  all, 

And  se  yow  what  I  see? 
Yonder  I  see  a  host  of  mew, 
I  muse  who  they  bee." 

6.  She  thought  he  had  ben  her  wed  lord, 

As  he  comd  riding  home  ; 
Then  was  it  trait  ?/?■  Captaine  Care, 
The  lord  of  Ester-towne. 

7.  They  wer  no  sone?'  at  supper  sett, 

Then  after  said  the  grace, 
Or  Captaine  Care  and  aU  his  men 
Wer  lighte  aboute  the  place. 

8.  "  Gyue  oue?'  thi  howsse,  thou  lady  gay, 

And  I  will  make  the  a  bande  ; 
To-nighte  thou  shall  ly  witAin  my  armes, 
To-morrowe  thou  shall  ere  my  lande." 

9.  The?i  bespacke  the  eldest  sonne, 

That  was  both  whitt  and  redde : 
"  O  mother  dere,  geue  ouer  your  howsse. 
Or  elles  we  shalbe  deade." 

10.  "  I  will  not  geue  ouer-  my  hous,"  she  saithe, 

"  Not  for  feare  of  my  lyffe  ; 
It  shalbe  talked  throughout  the  land. 
The  slaughter  of  a  wyffe. 

11.  "  Fetch  me  my  pestilett, 

Ajid  charge  me  my  gonne. 
That  I  may  shott  at  yonder  bloddy  butcher, 
The  lord  of  Easter-towne." 


80  POPULAR  BALLADS 

■  12.  Styfly  vpon  her  wall  she  stode, 
And  lett  the  pellettes  flee; 
But  then  she  myst  the  blody  bucher, 
And  she  slew  other  three. 

13.  "  [I  will]  not  geue  ouc>'  my  hous,"  she  saithe, 

"  Netheir  for  lord  nor  lowne  ; 
Nor  yet  for  trstitour  Captaine  Care, 
The  lord  of  Easter-towne. 

14.  "  I  desire  of  Captine  Care, 

And  all  his  bloddye  band. 
That  he  would  saue  my  eldest  sonne, 
The  eare  of  all  my  lande." 

15.  "  Lap  him  in  a  shete,"  he  sayth, 

"And  let  him  downe  to  me, 
And  I  shall  take  him  in  my  armes, 
His  waran  shall  1  be." 

16.  The  captayne  sayd  unto  him  selfe : 

Wyth  sped,  before  the  rest. 
He  cut  his  tonge  out  of  his  head, 
His  hart  out  of  his  brest. 

17.  He  lapt  them  in  a  handkerchef. 

And  knet  it  of  knotes  three, 
And  cast  them  ouer  the  castell-wall. 
At  that  gay  ladye. 

18.  "  Fye  vpon  the,  Captayne  Care, 

And  all  thy  bloddy  band ! 
For  thou  hast  slayne  my  eldest  sonne. 
The  ayre  of  all  my  land." 


POPULAR  BALLADS  81 

19.  Then  bespake  the  yongest  sonne, 

That  sat  on  the  nurses  knee, 
Sayth,  "  Mother  gay,  geue  oner  your  house  ; 
It  smoldereth  me." 

20.  "I  wold  geue  my  gokl,"  she  saith, 

"  And  so  I  wokle  my  ffee, 
For  a  blaste  of  the  westryn  wind, 
To  dryue  the  smoke  from  thee. 

21.  "  Fy  vpo«  the,  John  Hamleton, 

That  euer  I  paid  the  hyre ! 
For  thou  hast  broken  my  castle-wall, 
And  kyndled  in  the  ffyre." 

22.  The  lady  gate  to  her  close  parler, 

The  fire  fell  aboute  her  head; 
She  toke  vp  her  cliildre?i  thre, 
Seth,  "  Babes,  we  are  all  dead." 

23.  Then  bespake  the  hye  steward. 

That  is  of  hye  degree; 
Saith,  "  Ladie  gay,  you  are  in  close, 
Wether  ye  fighte  or  flee." 

24.  Lord  Hamleto^i  dremd  in  his  dream, 

In  Caruall  where  he  laye. 
His  halle  were  all  of  fyre. 
His  ladie  slayne  or  daye. 

25.  "  Busk  and  bowne,  my  mery  men-  all, 

Eveyi  and  go  ye  with  me; 
For  I  dremd  that  my  haal  was  on  fyre, 
My  lady  slayne  or  day." 


82  POPULAR   BALLADS 

26.  He  buskt  him  and  bowud  hyni, 
And  like  a  wortlii  knighte ; 
And  when  he  saw  his  hall  burni^ig, 
His  harte  was  no  dele  lighte. 


27.  He  sett  a  trumpett  till  his  mouth, 

He  blew  as  it  plesd  his  grace; 
Twenty  score  of  Hamlentons 
Was  light  aboute  the  place. 

28.  "  Had  I  knowne  as  much  yesternight© 

As  I  do  to-daye, 
Captaine  Care  and  all  his  men 
Should  not  haue  gone  so  quite. 

29.  "  Fye  vpon  the,  Captaine  Care, 

And  all  thy  blody  bande ! 
Thou  haste  slayne  my  lady  gay, 
More  wurth  the?i  all  thy  lande. 

30.  "  If  thou  had  ought  eny  ill  will,"  he  saith, 

"  Thou  shoulde  haue  taken  my  lyffe, 
And  haue  saved  my  children  thre, 
All  and  my  lonesome  wyffe." 


THE  BONNY  EARL  OF  MURRAY 

1.  Ye  Highlands,  and  ye  Lawlands, 
Oh  where  have  you  been  ? 
They  have  slain  the  Earl  of  Murray, 
And  they  layd  him  on  the  green. 


POPULAR  BALLADS  83 

2.  "  Now  wae  be  to  tliee,  Huntly ! 

And  wherefore  did  you  sae  ? 
I  bade  you  bring  him  wi  you, 
But  forbade  you  him  to  slay." 

3.  He  was  a  braw  gallant, 

And  he  rid  at  the  ring ; 
And  the  bonny  Earl  of  Murray, 
Oh  he  might  have  been  a  king! 

4.  He  was  a  braw  gallant, 

And  he  playd  at  the  ba ; 
And  the  bonny  Earl  of  Murray 
Was  the  flower  amang  them  a'. 

5.  He  was  a  braw  gallant, 

And  he  playd  at  the  glove ; 
And  the  bonny  Earl  of  Murray, 
Oh  he  was  the  Queen's  love ! 

6.  Oh  lang  will  his  lady 

Look  oer  the  castle  Down, 
Eer  she  see  the  Earl  of  Murray 

Come  sounding  thro  the  town  ! 
Eer  she,  etc. 


KINMONT   WILLIE 

O  HAVE  ye  na  heard  o  the  f ause  Sakelde  ? 

O  have  ye  na  heard  o  tlio  keen  Lord  Scroop  ? 
How  they  hae  taen  bauld  Kinmont  Willie, 

On  Hairibee  to  hang  him  up? 


84  POPULAR  BALLADS 

2.  Had  Willie  had  but  twenty  men, 

But  twenty  men  as  stout  as  he, 
Fause  Sakelde  had  never  the  Kinmont  taen, 
Wi  eight  score  in  his  companie. 

3.  They  band  his  legs  beneath  the  steed, 

They  tied  his  hands  behind  his  back; 
They  guarded,  him,  fivesorae  on  each  side, 
And  they  brought  him  ower  the  Liddel-rack. 

4.  They  led  him  thro  the  Liddel-rack, 

And  also  thro  the  Carlisle  sands ; 
They  brought  him  to  Carlisle  castell, 
To  be  at  my  Lord  Scroope's  commands. 

6..  "  My  hands  are  tied,  but  my  tongue  is  free, 
And  whae  will  dare  this  deed  avow  ? 
Or  answer  by  the  border  law  ? 

Or  answer  to  the  bauld  Buccleuch?" 

6.  "  Now  baud  thy  tongue,  thou  rank  reiver ! 

There  's  never  a  Scot  shall  set  ye  free ; 
Before  ye  cross  my  castle-yate, 

I  trow  ye  shall  take  farewell  o  me." 

7.  "  Fear  na  ye  that,  my  lord,"  quo  Willie  ; 

"  By  the  faith  o  my  bodie.  Lord  Scroop,"  he  said, 
"  I  never  yet  lodged  in  a  hostelrie 

But  I  paid  my  lawing  before  I  gaed." 

8.  Now  word  is  gane  to  the  bauld  Keeper, 

In  Branksome  Ha  where  that  he  lay, 
That  Lord  Scroope  has  taen  the  Kinmont  Willie, 
Between  the  hours  of  night  and  day. 


POPULAR  BALLADS  85 

9.  He  has  taen  the  table  wi  his  hand. 

He  garrtl  the  red  wine  spring  on  hie  ; 
"Now  Christ's  curse  on  my  head,"  he  said, 
"  But  avenged  of  Lord  Scroop  I  '11  be  ! 

10.  "  O  is  my  basnet  a  widow's  curch  ? 

Or  my  lance  a  wand  of  the  willow-tree  ? 
Or  my  arm  a  ladye's  lilye  hand  ? 

That  an  English  lord  should  lightly  me. 

11.  "  And  have  they  taen  him  Kinmont  Willie, 

Against  the  truce  of  Border  tide. 
And  forg-otten  that  the  bauld  Bacleuch 
Is  keeper  here  on  the  Scottish  side  ? 

12.  "  And  have  they  een  taen  him  Kinmont  Willie, 

Withouten  either  dread  or  fear, 
And  forgotten  that  the  baidd  Bacleuch 
Can  back  a  steed,  or  shake  a  spear  ? 

13.  "  O  were  there  war  between  the  lands. 

As  well  I  wot  that  there  is  none, 
I  would  slight  Carlisle  castell  high, 
Tho  it  were  builded  of  marble-stone. 

14.  "  I  would  set  that  castell  in  a  low, 

And  sloken  it  with  English  blood  ; 
There  's  nevir  a  man  in  Cumberland 
Should  ken  where  Carlisle  castell  stood. 

15.  "  But  since  nae  war's  between  the  lands, 

And  there  is  i)eace,  and  peace  should  be, 
I  '11  neither  harm  English  hul  or  lass, 
And  yet  the  Kinmont  freed  shall  be ! " 


86  POPULAR  BALLADS 

16.  He  has  calld  him  forty  marchmen  bauld, 

I  trow  they  were  of  his  ain  name, 
Except  Sir  Gilbert  Elliot,  calld 
The  Laird  of  Stobs,  I  mean  the  same. 

17.  He  has  calld  him  forty  marchmen  bauld, 

Were  kinsmen  to  the  bauld  Buccleuch, 
With  spur  on  heel,  and  splent  on  spauld. 
And  gleuves  of  green,  and  feathers  blue. 

18.  There  were  five  and  five  before  them  a', 

Wi  hunting-horns  and  bugles  bright ; 
And  five  and  five  came  wi  Buccleuch, 
Like  Warden's  men,  arrayed  for  fight. 

19.  And  five  and  five  like  a  mason-gang. 

That  carried  the  ladders  lang  and  hie ; 
And  five  and  five  like  broken  men  ; 

And  so  they  reached  the  Woodhouselee. 

20.  And  as  we  crossed  the  Bateable  Land, 

When  to  the  English  side  we  held. 
The  first  o  men  that  we  met  wi, 

Whae  sould  it  be  but  f  ause  Sakelde ! 

21.  "  Where  be  ye  gaun,  ye  hunters  keen?  " 

Quo  fause  Sakelde  ;  "  come  tell  to  me !  "  1 
"  We  go  to  hunt  an  English  stag. 
Has  trespassd  on  the  Scots  countrie." 

22.  "  Where  be  ye  gaun,  ye  marshal-men  ?  " 

Quo  fause  Sakelde  ;  "  come  tell  to  me  true  !  " 
"  We  go  to  catch  a  rank  reiver, 

Has  broken  faith  wi  the  baiUd  Buccleuch." 


POPULAR  BALLADS  87 

23.  "  Where  are  ye  gaun,  ye  mason-lads, 

Wi  a'  your  ladders  lang  and  hie  ?  " 
"  We  gang  to  herry  a  corbie's  nest, 

That  wons  not  far  frae  Woodhouselee." 

24.  "  Where  be  ye  gaun,  ye  broken  men  ?  " 

Quo  fause  Sakelde  ;  "  come  tell  to  me !  " 
Now  Dickie  of  Dryhope  led  that  band, 
And  the  never  a  word  o  lear  had  he. 

25.  "Why  trespass  ye  on  the  English  side? 

Eow-f  ooted  outlaws,  stand  !  "  quo  he ; 
The  neer  a  word  had  Dickie  to  say, 

Sae  he  thrust  the  lance  thro  his  fause  bodie. 

26.  Then  on  we  held  for  Carlisle  toun. 

And  at  Staneshaw-bank  the  Eden  we  crossd  ; 
The  water  was  great,  and  meikle  of  spait, 
But  the  nevir  a  horse  nor  man  we  lost. 

27.  And  when  we  reached  the  Stanshaw-bank, 

The  wind  was  rising  loud  and  hie  ; 
And  there  the  laird  garrd  leave  our  steeds. 
For  fear  that  they  should  stamp  and  nie. 

28.  And  when  we  left  the  Staneshaw-bank, 

The  wind  began  full  loud  to  blaw  ; 
But 't  was  wind  and  weet,  and  fire  and  sleet, 
When  we  came  beneath  the  castel-wa. 

29.  We  crept  on  knees,  and  held  our  breath. 

Till  we  placed  the  ladders  against  the  wa; 
And  sae  ready  was  Buccleuch  himsell 
To  mount  the  first  before  us  a'. 


88  POPULAR  BALLADS 

30.  He  has  taen  the  watchman  by  the  throat, 

He  flung  him  down  upon  the  lead : 
"  Had  there  not  been  peace  between  our  lands, 
Upon  the  other  side  thou  hadst  gaed. 

31.  "Now  sound  out,  trumpets!  "  quo  Buccleuch; 

"  Let 's  waken  Lord  Scroope  right  merrilie  !  " 
Then  loud  the  Warden's  trumpets  blew 
"  O  whae  dare  meddle  wi  me  ?  " 

32.  Then  speedilie  to  wark  we  gaed, 

And  raised  the  slogan  ane  and  a', 
And  cut  a  hole  thro  a  sheet  of  lead, 
And  so  we  wan  to  the  castel-ha. 

33.  They  thought  King  James  and  a'  his  men 

Had  won  the  house  wi  bow  and  speir : 
It  was  but  twenty  Scots  and  ten 
That  put  a  thousand  in  sic  a  stear ! 

34.  Wi  coulters  and  wi  forehammers. 

We  garrd  the  bars  bang  merrilie, 
Untill  we  came  to  the  inner  prison, 
Where  Willie  o  Kinmont  he  did  lie. 

35.  And  when  we  cam  to  the  lower  prison, 

Where  Willie  o  Kinmont  he  did  lie, 
"  O  sleep  ye,  wake  ye,  Kinmont  Willie, 
Upon  the  morn  that  thou 's  to  die  ?  " 

36.  "01  sleep  saft,  and  I  wake  aft. 

It 's  lang  since  sleeping  was  fleyd  frae  me  ; 
Gie  my  service  back  to  my  wyfe  and  bairns. 
And  a'  gude  fellows  that  speer  for  me." 


POPULAR   BALLADS  89 

37.  Then  Red  Rowan  has  hente  him  up, 

The  starkest  men  in  Teviotclale  : 
"Abide,  abide  now,  Red  Rowan, 

Till  of  my  Lord  Scroope  I  take  farewell. 

38.  "  Farewell,  farewell,  my  gude  Lord  Scroope  ! 

My  gude  Lord  Scroope,  farewell  I  "  he  cried  ; 
"  I  11  pay  you  for  my  lodging-maill 

When  first  we  meet  on  the  border-side." 

39.  Then  shoidder  high,  with  shout  and  cry, 

We  bore  him  down  the  ladder  lang ; 
At  every  stride  Red  Rowan  made, 

I  wot  the  Kinmont's  aims  playd  clang. 

40.  "  O  mony  a  time,"  quo  Kinmont  Willie, 

"  I  have  ridden  horse  baith  wild  and  wood ; 
But  a  rougher  beast  than  Red  Rowan 
I  ween  my  legs  have  neer  bestrode. 

41.  "  And  mony  a  time,"  quo  Kinmont  Willie, 

"  I  've  pricked  a  horse  out  oure  the  furs ; 
But  since  the  day  I  backed  a  steed 
I  nevir  wore  sic  cumbrous  spurs." 

42.  We  scarce  had  won  the  Staneshaw-bank, 

When  a'  the  Carlisle  bells  were  rung. 
And  a  thousand  men,  in  horse  and  foot, 
Cam  wi  the  keen  Lord  Scroope  along. 

43.  Buccleuch  has  turned  to  Eden  Water, 

P>en  where  it  flowd  frae  bank  to  brim. 
And  he  has  plunged  in  wi  a'  his  band. 
And  safely  swam  them  thro  the  stream. 


90  POPULAR   BALLADS 

44.  He  turned  him  on  the  other  side, 

And  at  Lord  Scroope  his  glove  flung  he 
"  If  ye  like  na  my  visit  in  merry  England, 
In  fair  Scotland  come  visit  me !  " 

45.  All  sore  astonished  stood  Lord  Scroope, 

He  stood  as  still  as  rock  of  stane ; 
He  scarcely  dared  to  trew  his  eyes 
When  thro  the  water  they  had  gane. 

46.  "He  is  either  himsell  a  devil  frae  hell, 

Or  else  his  mother  a  witch  maun  be ; 
I  wad  na  have  ridden  that  wan  water 
For  a'  the  gowd  in  Christentie." 


BONNIE  GEORGE  CAMPBELL 

1.  Hie  upon  Hielands, 

and  laigh  upon  Tay, 
Bonnie  George  Campbell 
rode  out  on  a  day. 

2.  He  saddled,  he  bridled, 

and  gallant  rode  he, 
And  hame  cam  his  guid  horse, 
but  never  cam  he. 

3.  Out  cam  his  mother  dear, 

greeting  fu  sair, 
And  out  cam  his  bonnie  bryde, 
rivino-  her  hair. 


POPULAR   BALLADS  91 

"  Tlie  meadow  lies  green, 

tlie  corn  is  unshorn, 
But  bonnie  George  Campbell 

will  never  return." 


5.  Saddled  and  bridled 

and  booted  rode  be, 
A  plume  in  his  helmet, 
A  sword  at  his  knee. 

6.  But  toom  cam  his  saddle, 

all  bloody  to  see, 
Oh,  hame  cam  his  guid  horse, 
but  never  cam  he  ! 


THE   DOWY   HOUMS   O   YARROW 

1.  Late  at  een,  drinkin  the  wine. 

Or  early  in  a  mornin, 
The  set  a  combat  them  between. 
To  fight  it  in  the  dawnin. 

2.  "  O  stay  at  hame,  my  noble  lord ! 

O  stay  at  hame,  my  marrow ! 
My  cruel  brother  will  you  betray. 
On  the  dowy  houms  o  Yarrow." 

3.  "  O  fare  ye  weel,  mylady  gaye  ! 

O  fare  ye  weel,  my  Sarah ! 
For  I  maun  gae,  tho  I  neer  return 
Frae  the  dowy  banks  o  Yarrow." 


92  POPULAR   BALLADS 

4.  She  kissed  his  cheek,  she  kaimd  his  hair, 

As  she  had  done  before,  O  ; 
She  belted  on  his  noble  brand, 
An  he  's  awa  to  Yarrow. 

5.  O  he  's  gane  up  yon  high,  high  hill  — 

I  wat  he  gaed  wi  sorrow  — 
And  in  a  den  spied  nine  armd  men, 
I  the  dowy  houms  o  Yarrow. 

6.  "  O  ir  ye  come  to  drink  the  wine, 

As  ye  hae  doon  before,  O  ? 
Or  ir  ye  come  to  wield  the  brand, 
On  the  bonny  banks  o  Yarrow  ?  " 

7.  "  I  im  no  come  to  drink  the  wine, 

As  I  hae  don  before,  O, 
But  I  im  come  to  wield  the  brand. 
On  the  dowy  houms  o  Yarrow." 

8.  Four  he  hurt,  an  five  he  slew. 

On  the  dowy  houms  o  Yarrow, 
TiU  that  stubborn  knight  came  him  behind, 
An  ran  his  body  thorrow. 

9.  "  Gae  hame,  gae  hame,  good-brother  John, 

An  tell  your  sister  Sarah 
To  come  an  lift  her  noble  lord, 
Who  's  sleepin  sound  on  Yarrow." 

10.  "  Yestreen  I  dr^amd  a  dolefu  dream  ; 
I  kend  there  wad  be  sorrow ; 
I  dreamd  I  pu'd  the  heather  green. 
On  the  dowy  banks  o  Yarrow." 


POPULAR  BALLADS  93 

11.  She  gaed  up  yon  high,  high  hill  — 

I  wat  she  gaed  wi  soitovv  — 
An  in  a  den  spy'd  nine  dead  men, 
On  the  dowy  houms  o  Yarrow. 

12.  She  kissed  his  cheek,  she  kaimd  his  hair, 

As  oft  she  did  before,  O ; 
She  drank  the  red  blood  frae  him  ran. 
On  the  dowy  houms  o  Yarrow. 

13.  "  O  hand  your  tongue,  my  douchter  dear, 

For  what  needs  a'  this  sorrow? 
I  '11  wed  you  on  a  better  lord 
Than  him  you  lost  on  Yarrow." 

14.  "  O  hand  your  tongue,  my  father  dear, 

An  dinna  grieve  your  Sarah ; 
A  better  lord  was  never  born 
Than  him  I  lost  on  Yarrow. 

15.  "  Tak  hame  your  onsen,  tak  hame  your  kye, 

For  they  hae  bred  our  sorrow  ; 
I  wiss  that  they  had  a'  gane  mad 
Whan  they  cam  first  to  Yarrow." 


JOHNIE   COCK 

1.  JoHNY  he  has  risen  up  i  the  morn. 
Calls  for  water  to  wash  his  hands ; 
But  little  knew  he  that  his  bloody  hounds 
Were  l)0und  in  iion  ])ands.       bands 
Were  bound  in  iron  bands. 


94  POPULAR   BALLADS 

2.  Johny's  mother  has  gotten  word  o  that, 

And  care-bed  she  has  taen: 
"  O  Johny,  for  my  benison, 

I  beg  you  '1  stay  at  hame ; 
For  the  wine  so  red,  and  the  well  baken  bread, 

My  Johny  shall  want  nane. 

8.  "  There  are  seven  forsters  at  Pickeram  Side, 
At  Pickeram  where  they  dwell, 
And  for  a  drop  of  thy  heart's  bluid 
They  wad  ride  the  fords  of  hell." 

4.  Johny  he 's  gotten  word  of  that, 

And  he's  turnd  wondrous  keen; 
He  's  put  off  the  red  scarlett, 

And  he  's  put  on  the  Lincolm  green. 

5.  With  a  sheaf  of  arrows  by  his  side, 

And  a  bent  bow  in  his  hand, 
He 's  mounted  on  a  prancing  steed, 

And  he  has  ridden  fast  oer  the  strand. 

6.  He  's  up  i  Braidhouplee,  and  down  i  Bradyslee, 

And  under  a  buss  o  broom, 
And  there  he  found  a  good  dim  deer. 
Feeding  in  a  buss  of  ling. 

7.  Johny  shot,  and  the  dun  deer  lap. 

And  she  lap  wondrous  wide, 
Until  they  came  to  the  wan  water. 
And  he  stemd  her  of  her  pride. 

8.  He  'as  taen  out  the  little  pen-knife, 

'T  was  f  idl  three  quarters  long, 


POPULAR  BALLADS  95 

And  he  has  taen  out  of  that  dun  deer 
The  liver  hot  and  the  tongue. 

9.  They  eat   of  the  flesh,   and  they  drank  of  the 
blood, 
And  the  blood  it  was  so  sweet, 
AVhich  caused  Johny  and  his  bloody  hounds 
To  faU  in  a  deep  sleep. 

10.  By  then  came  an  old  palmer. 

And  an  ill  death  may  he  die ! 
For  he  's  away  to  Pickram  Side, 
As  fast  as  he  can  drie. 

11.  "  What  news,  what  news  ?  "  says  the  Seven  Fors- 

ters, 
•'  What  news  have  ye  brought  to  me  ?  " 
"  I  have  noe  news,"  the  palmer  said, 
"  But  what  I  saw  with  my  eye. 

12.  "  High  up  i  Bradyslee,  low  down  i  Bradisslee, 

And  under  a  buss  of  scroggs, 
O  there  I  spied  a  weU-wight  man, 
Sleeping  among  his  dogs. 

13.  "  His  coat  it  was  of  Light  Lincolm, 

And  his  breeches  of  the  same, 
His  shoes  of  the  American  leather, 
And  gold  buckles  tying  them." 

14.  Up  bespake  the  Seven  Forsters, 

Up  bespake  they  ane  and  a' : 
"  O  that  is  Johny  o  Cockleys  Well, 
And  near  him  we  will  draw." 


96  POPULAR  BALLADS 

15.  O  tlie  first  y  stroke  that  they  gae  him, 

They  struck  him  off  by  the  knee ; 
Then  up  bespake  his  sister's  son: 
"  O  the  next  11  gar  him  die  !  " 

16.  "  O  some  they  count  ye  well-wight  men, 

But  I  do  count  ye  nane ; 
For  you  might  well  ha  wakend  me, 
And  askd  gin  I  wad  be  taen. 

17.  "  The  wildest  wolf  in  aw  this  wood 

Wad  not  ha  done  so  by  me ; 
She  'd  ha  wet  her  foot  ith  wan  water. 

And  sprinkled  it  oer  my  brae, 
And  if  that  wad  not  ha  wakend  me. 

She  wad  ha  gone  and  let  me  be. 

18.  "  O  bows  of  yew,  if  ye  be  true, 

In  London,  where  ye  were  bought. 
Fingers  five,  get  up  belive, 

Manhuid  shall  fail  me  nought." 

19.  He  has  killd  the  Seven  Forsters, 

He  has  killd  them  all  but  ane, 
And  that  wan  scarce  to  Pickeram  Side, 
To  carry  the  bode-words  hame. 

20.  "  Is  there  never  a  boy  in  a'  this  wood 

That  will  tell  what  I  can  say; 
That  will  go  to  Cockleys  Well, 

Tell  my  mither  to  fetch  me  away  ?  '* 

21.  There  was  a  boy  into  that  wood, 

That  carried  the  tidings  away. 


POPULAR   BALLADS  97 

And  many  ae  was  the  well-wight  man 
At  the  fetching  o  Johny  away. 


ROBIN  HOOD   AND   GUY  OF  GISBORNE 

1.  When  shawes  beene  sheene,  and  shradds  full  fayre, 

And  leeues  both  large  and  longe, 
Itt  is  merry,  walking  in  the  fayre  fforrest, 
To  heare  the  small  birds  songe. 

2.  The  woodweele  sang,  and  wold  not  cease, 

Amongst  the  leaues  a  lyne : 
And  it  is  by  two  wight  yeomen, 
By  deare  God,  that  I  meane. 


3.  "  Me  thought  they  did  mee  beate  and  binde. 

And  tooke  my  bow  mee  f roe ; 
If  I  bee  Robin  a-liue  in  this  lande, 
I  'le  be  wrocken  on  both  them  towe." 

4.  "  Sweauens  are  swift,  maN^e/%"  q?/oth  lohn 

"  As  the  wind  that  blowes  ore  a  hill ; 
Ffor  if  itt  be  neuer  soe  lowde  this  night, 
To-morrow  it  may  be  still." 

5.  "  Buske  yee,  bowne  yee,  my  merry  men  aU. 

Ffor  lohn  shall  goe  with  mee ; 
For  I  'le  goe  seeke  yond  wight  yeomen 
In  greenwood  where  the  bee." 

6.  The  cast  on  their  gowne  of  greene, 

A  shooting  gone  are  they, 


98  POPULAR   BALLADS 

Vntill  tliey  came  to  the  merry  greenwood, 
Where  they  had  gladdest  bee  ; 

There  were  the  ware  of  [a]  wight  yeoman, 
His  body  leaned  to  a  tree. 

7.  A  sword  and  a  dagger  he  wore  by  his  side. 

Had  beene  many  a  mans  bane, 
And  he  was  eladd  in  his  capuU-hyde, 
Topp,  and  tayle,  and  mayne. 

8.  "  Stand  you  still,  master,"  qwoth  Litle  lohn, 

"  Vnder  this  trusty  tree. 
And  I  will  goe  to  yond  wight  yeoman. 
To  know  his  meaning  trulye." 

9.  "  A,  lohn,  by  me  thou  setts  noe  store, 

And  that 's  a  ffarley  thinge  ; 

How  offt  send  I  my  men  beffore. 

And  tarry  my-selfe  behinde  ? 

10.  "  It  is  noe  cunning  a  knaue  to  ken, 

And  a  man  but  heare  him  speake ; 
And  itt  were  not  for  bursting  of  my  bowe, 
lohn,  I  wold  thy  head  breake." 

11.  But  often  words  they  breeden  bale. 

Thai  parted  Robin  and  John  ; 
lohn  is  gone  to  Barn[e]sdale, 
The  gates  he  knowes  eche  one. 

12.  And  when  hee  came  to  Barnesdale, 

Great  heauinesse  there  hee  hadd ; 
He  ffound  two  of  his  fellowes 
Were  slaine  both  in  a  slade, 


POPULAR  BALLADS  99 

13.  And  Scarlett  a  ffoote  flyinge  was, 

Oner  stockes  and  stone, 
For  the  sheriffe  with,  seuen  score  men 
Fast  after  liim  is  gone. 

14.  "  Yett  one  shoote  I  'le  slioote,"  sayes  Litle  lohn, 

"  With  Crist  his  might  and  mayne  ; 
I  'le  make  yond  fellow  t/ntt  flyes  soe  fast 
To  be  both  glad  and  ffaine." 

15.  lohn  bent  vp  a  good  veiwe  bow, 

And  ffetteled  him  to  shoote  ; 
The  bow  was  made  of  a  tender  boughe, 
And  fell  downe  to  his  foote. 

16.  "  Woe  worth  thee,  wicked  wood,"  sayd  Litle  lohn, 

"  That  ere  thou  grew  on  a  tree ! 
Ffor  this  day  thou  art  my  bale, 
My  boote  when  thou  shold  bee !  " 

17.  This  shoote  it  was  but  loosely e  shott. 

The  arrowe  flew  in  vaine, 
And  it  mett  one  of  the  sheriffes  men ; 
Good  Winiaim  a  Trent  was  slaine. 

18.  It  had  beene  better  for  William  a  Trent 

To  hange  vpon  a  gallowe 
Then  for  to  lye  in  the  greenwoode, 
There  slaine  with  an  arrowe. 

19.  And  it  is  sayd,  when  men  be  mett. 

Six  can  doe  more  then  three  : 
And  they  haue  tane  Litle  John, 
And  bound  liim  ffast  to  a  tree. 


100  POPULAR  BALLADS 

20.  "  TJiou  shalt  be  drawen  by  dale  and  downe,"  qiioth. 

the  sberiffe, 
"  And  hanged  bye  on  a  bill  "  : 
"  But  thou  may  fPayle,"  q?^otb  Litle  lohn, 
"  If  itt  be  Christs  owne  wiU." 

21.  Let  vs  leaue  talking  of  Litle  lohn, 

For  bee  is  bound  fast  to  a  tree, 
And  talke  of  Guy  and  Robin  Hood, 
In  the  green  woode  where  they  bee. 

22.  How  these  two  yeomen  together  they  mett, 

Vnder  the  leaues  of  lyne, 
To  see  what  marchandise  they  made 
Euen  at  that  same  time. 

23.  "  Good  morrow,  good  fellow,"  q?/oth  Szr  Guy ; 

"  Good  morrow,  good  ffellow,"  q?/oth  bee  ; 
"  Methinkes  by  this  bow  thou  beares  in  thy  hand, 
A  good  archer  thou  seems  to  bee." 

24.  "  I  am  wilfuU  of  my  way,"  qwoth  Sir  Guye, 

"  And  of  my  morning  tyde  "  : 
"  I  'le  lead  thee  through  the  wood,"  qwoth  Robin, 
"  Good  ffeUow,  I  'le  be  thy  guide." 

25.  "  I  seeke  an  outlaw,"  quoth.  Sir  Guye, 

•  "  Men  call  him  Robin  Hood  ; 
I  had  rather  meet  with  him  v]3on  a  day 
Then  forty  pound  of  golde." 

26.  "  If  you  tow  mett,  itt  wold  be  seene  whether  were 

better 
Afore  yee  did  part  awaye ; 


POPULAR   BALLADS  101 

Let  vs  some  other  pastime  find, 
Good  ffellow,  I  thee  pray. 

27.  "  Let  vs  some  other  masteryes  make, 

And  wee  will  walke  in  the  woods  euen ; 
Wee  may  chance  mee[t]  with  Robin  Iloode 
Att  some  vnsett  steven." 

28.  They  cutt  them  downe  the  sumwer  shroggs 

AVAich  gfew  both  vnder  a  bi-yar, 
And  sett  them  three  score  rood  in  twiun, 
To  shoote  the  prickes  full  neare. 

29.  "  Leade  on,  good  ffellow,"  sayd  Sir  Giiye, 

"  Lead  on,  I  doe  bidd  thee  "  : 
"  Nay,  by  my  faith,"  quoth  Robin  Hood, 
"  The  leader  thou  shalt  bee." 

30.  The  first  good  shoot  that  Robin  ledd 

Did  not  shoote  an  inch  the  pricke  ffroe ; 
Guy  was  an  archer  good  enoughe. 
But  he  cold  neere  shoote  soe. 

31.  The  second  shoote  Sir  Guy  shott, 

lie  shott  within  the  garlande ; 
But  Robin  Hoode  shott  it  better  then  hee, 
For  he  clone  the  good  pricke-wande. 

32.  "  Gods  blessing  on  thy  heart!  "  sayes  Guye, 

"  Goode  ffellow,  thy  shooting  is  goode  ; 
For  an  thy  hg,rt  be  as  good  as  thy  hands, 
Thou  were  better  then  Robin  Hood. 

LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 


102  POPULAR   BALLADS 

33.  "Tell  me  thy  name,  good  ffellow,"  quoth  Guy, 

"  Vnder  the  leaues  of  lyne  "  : 
"  Nay,  by  my  faith,"  quoth,  good  Robin, 
"  Till  thou  haue  told  me  thine." 

34.  "  1  dwell  by  dale  and  downe,"  q?«oth  Guye, 

"  And  I  haue  done  many  a  curst  turne ; 
And  he  that  calles  me  by  my  right  name 
Calles  me  Guye  of  good  Gysborne." 

35.  "  My  dwelling  is  in  the  wood,"  sayes  Robin ; 

"  By  thee  I  set  right  nought ; 
My  name  is  Robin  Hood  of  Barnesdale, 
A  ffellow  thou  has  long  sought." 

36.  He  that  had  neither  beene  a  kithe  nor  kin 

Might  haue  seene  a  full  ia.jre  sight. 
To  see  how  together  these  yeomen  went, 
With  blades  both  browne  and  bright. 

37.  To  haue  seene  how  these  yeomen  together  f  oug  [ht] , 

Two  howers  of  a  summers  day ; 

Itt  was  neither  Guy  nor  Robin  Hood 

That  Settled  them  to  flye  away. 

38.  Robin  was  reach eles  on  a  roote. 

And  stumbled  at  that  tyde, 
And  Guy  was  quicke  and  nimble  withall, 
And  hitt  him  ore  the  left  side. 

39.  "  Ah,  deere  Lady !  "  sayd  Robin  Hoode, 

"  Thou  art  both  mother  and  may  ! 
I  thinke  it  was  neuer  mans  destinye 
To  dye  before  his  day." 


POPULAR  BALLADS  103 

40.  Robin  thought  on  Our  Lady  deere, 

And  soone  leapt  vp  againe, 
And  thus  he  came  with  an  awkwarde  stroke ; 
Good  Sir  Guy  hee  has  slayne. 

41.  He  tooke  Sir  Guys  head  by  the  hay  re, 

And  sticked  itt  on  his  bowes  end : 

*'  Thou  hast  beene  traytor  all  thy  liffe, 

WAich  thing  must  haue  an  ende." 

42.  Robin  pulled  forth  an  Irish  kniffe, 

And  nicked  Sir  Guy  in  the  fface, 
That  hee  was  neuer  on  a  woman  borne 
Cold  tell  who  Sir  Guye  was. 

43.  Sales,  "  Lye  there,  lye  there,  good  Sir  Guye, 

And  with  me  be  not  wrothe  ; 
If  thou  haue  had  the  worse  stroakes  at  my  hand, 
Thou  shalt  haue  the  better  cloathe." 

44.  Robin  did  off  his  gowne  of  greene, 

Sir  Guy  hee  did  it  thro  we  ; 

And  hee  put  on  that  capull-hyde, 

TJittt  cladd  him  topp  to  toe. 

45.  "  The  bowe,  the  arrowes,  and  litle  home, 

And  with  me  now  I  'le  beare  ; 
Ffor  now  I  will  goe  to  Barn[e]sdale, 
To  see  how  my  men  doe  ffare." 

46.  Robin  sett  Guyes  home  to  his  mouth, 

A  lowd  blast  in  it  he  did  blow  ; 
That  beheard  the  sheriffe  of  Nottingham, 
As  he  leaned  vndcr  a  lowe. 


104  POPULAR  BALLADS 

47.  "  Hearken !  hearken  !  "  sayd  the  sheriffe, 

"  I  heard  noe  tydings  but  good  ; 
For  yonder  I  heare  Sir  Guyes  home  bio  we, 
For  he  hath  slaine  Robin  Hoode. 

48.  "  For  yonder  I  heare  Sir  Guyes  home  blow, 

Itt  blowes  soe  well  in  tyde, 
For  yonder  comes  that  wighty  yeoman, 
Cladd  in  his  capull-hyde. 

49.  "  Come  hither,  thou  good  Sir  Guj, 

Aske  of  mee  what  thou  wilt  haue  "  : 
"  I  'le  none  of  thy  gold,"  sayes  Robin  Hood, 
"  Nor  I  'le  none  of  itt  haue. 

50.  "  But  now  I  haue  slaine  the  master,"  he  sayd, 

"  Let  me  goe  strike  the  knaue  ; 
This  is  all  the  reward  I  aske, 
Nor  noe  other  will  I  haue." 

51.  "  Thou  art  a  madman,"  said  the  shiriffe, 

"  Thou  sholdest  haue  had  a  knights  ffee ; 
Seeing  thy  asking  [hath]  beene  soe  badd, 
Well  granted  it  shall  be." 

52.  But  Litle  lohn  heard  his  master  speake. 

Well  he  knew  that  was  his  steuen ; 
"  Now  shall  I  be  loset,"  quoth  Litle  lohn, 
"  With  Christs  might  in  heauen." 

63.  But  Robin  hee  hyed  him  towards  Litle  lohn, 
Hee  thought  hee  wold  loose  him  beliue  ; 
The  sheriffe  and  all  his  companye 
Fast  after  him  did  driue. 


POPULAR  BALLADS  105 

54.  "  Stand  abacke  !  stand  abacke  !  "  sayd  Robin ; 

"  Why  draw  you  mee  soe  neere  ? 

Itt  Avas  neuer  the  vse  in  our  countrye 

One's  shrift  another  shold  heere." 

55.  But  Robin  pulled  forth  an  Irysh  kniffe, 

And  losed  lohn  hand  and  ffoote, 
And  gaue  him  S/r  Guyes  bow  in  his  hand, 
And  bade  it  be  his  boote. 

56.  But  lohn  tooke  Guyes  bow  in  his  hand — ■ 

His  arrowes  were  rawstye  by  the  roote  — ; 
The  sherriffe  saw  Litle  lohn  draw  a  bow 
And  ffettle  him  to  shoote. 

57.  Towards  his  house  in  Nottingam 

He  ffled  frJl  fast  away, 
And  soe  did  all  his  companye, 
Not  one  behind  did  stay. 

58.  But  he  cold  neither  soe  fast  goe, 

Nor  away  soe  fast  runn. 
But  Litle  lohn,  with  an  arrow  broade, 
Did  cleaue  his  heart  in  twinn. 


ROBIN  HOOD'S   DEATH   AND   BURIAL 

1.  WiiEX  Robin  Hood  and  Little  John 

Down  a  down  a  down  a  down 
Went  oer  yon  bank  of  broom. 

Said  Robin  Hood  bold  to  Little  John, 
"  We  have  shot  for  many  a  pound." 

Hey  down,  a  down,  a  down. 


106  POPULAR   BALLADS 

2.  "  But  I  am  not  able  to  shoot  one  shot  more. 

My  broad  arrows  will  not  flee ; 
But  I  have  a  cousm  lives  down  below, 
Please  God,  she  will  bleed  me." 

3.  Now  Kobin  he  is  to  fair  Kirkly  gone. 

As  fast  as  he  can  win  ; 
But  before  he  came  there,  as  we  do  hear, 
He  was  taken  very  ill. 

4.  And  when  he  came  to  fair  Kirkly-hall, 

He  knockd  all  at  the  ring. 
But  none  was  so  ready  as  his  cousin  herself 
For  to  let  bold  Robin  in. 

5.  "  Will  you  please  to  sit  down,  cousin  Robin," she  said, 

"  And  drink  some  beer  with  me  ?  " 
"  No,  I  will  neither  eat  nor  drink. 
Till  I  am  blooded  by  thee." 

6.  "  Well,  1  have  a  room,  cousin  Robin,"  she  said, 

"  Which  you  did  never  see. 
And  if  you  please  to  walk  therein, 
You  blooded  by  me  shall  be." 

7.  She  took  him  by  the  lily-white  hand. 

And  led  him  to  a  private  room. 
And  there  she  blooded  bold  Robin  Hood, 
While  one  drop  of  blood  would  run  down. 

8.  She  blooded  him  in  a  vein  of  the  arm. 

And  locked  him  up  in  the  room  ; 
Then  did  he  bleed  all  the  live-long  day, 
Until  the  next  day  at  noon. 


POPULAR   BALLADS  107 

9.  He  then  bethought  him  of  a  casement  there, 

Thinking  for  to  get  clown  ; 
But  was  so  weak  he  couhi  not  leap, 
He  could  not  get  him  down. 

10.  He  then  bethought  him  of  his  bugle-horn. 

Which  hung  low  down  to  his  knee ; 
He  set  his  horn  unto  his  mouth, 
And  blew  out  weak  blasts  three. 

11.  Then  Little  John,  when  hearing  him, 

As  he  sat  under  a  tree, 
"  I  fear  my  master  is  now  near  dead, 
He  blows  so  wearily." 

12.  Then  Little  John  to  fair  Kirkly  is  gone, 

As  fast  as  he  can  dree ; 
But  when  he  came  to  Kirkly-hall, 
He  broke  locks  two  or  three  : 

13.  Until  he  came  bold  Robin  to  see. 

Then  he  fell  on  his  knee ; 
"  A  boon,  a  boon,"  cries  Little  John, 
"  Master,  I  beg  of  thee." 

14.  "What  is  that  boon,"  said  Robin  Hood, 

"  Little  John,  [thou]  begs  of  me  ?  " 
"  It  is  to  burn  fair  Kiikly-hall, 
And  all  their  nunnery." 

15.  "  Now  nay,  now  nay,"  quoth  Robin  Hood, 

"  That  boon  I  '11  not  grant  thee ; 
I  never  hurt  woman  in  all  my  life. 
Nor  men  in  woman's  company. 


108  POPULAR   BALLADS 

16.  "I  never  hurt  fair  maid  in  all  my  time, 

Nor  at  mine  end  shall  it  be  ; 
But  give  me  my  bent  bow  in  my  hand, 

And  a  broad  arrow  1 11  let  flee 
And  where  this  arrow  is  taken  up, 

There  shall  my  grave  digged  be. 

17.  "  Lay  me  a  green  sod  under  my  head, 

And  another  at  my  feet ; 
And  lay  my  bent  bow  by  my  side. 

Which  was  my  music  sweet ; 
And  make  my  grave  of  gravel  and  green, 

Which  is  most  right  and  meet. 

18.  "  Let  me  have  length  and  breadth  enough. 

With  a  green  sod  under  my  head  ; 
That  they  may  say,  when  I  am  dead. 
Here  lies  bold  Robin  Hood." 

19.  These  words  they  readily  granted  him. 

Which  did  bold  Robin  please  : 
And  there  they  buried  bold  Robin  Hood, 
Within  the  fair  Kirkleys. 


ROBIN    HOOD   RESCUING    THE   WIDOW'S 
THREE   SONS 

1.  There  are  twelve  months  in  all  the  year 
As  I  hear  many  men  say, 
But  the  merriest  month  in  all  the  year. 
Is  the  merry  month  of  May. 


POPULAR  BALLADS  109 

2.  Now  Robin  Hood  is  to  Nottingham  gone, 

With  a  link  a  down  and  a  day, 
And  there  he  met  a  silly  old  woman. 
Was  weeping  on  the  way. 

3.  "  What  news?  what  news,  thou  silly  old  woman? 

What  news  hast  thou  for  me?" 
Said  she,  "  There  's  three  squires  in  Nottingham 
town 
To-day  is  condemned  to  die." 

4.  "  O  have  they  parishes  burnt?"  he  said, 

"  Or  have  they  ministers  slain  ? 
Or  have  they  robbed  any  virgin. 

Or  with  other  men's  wives  have  lain  ?  " 

5.  "  They  have  no  parishes  burnt,  good  sir. 

Nor  yet  have  ministers  slain. 
Nor  have  they  robbed  any  virgin, 

Nor  with  other  men's  wives  have  lain." 

6.  "  O  what  have  they  done?"  said  bold  Robin  Hood, 

"  I  pray  thee  tell  to  me  "  : 
"  It 's  for  slaying  of  the  king's  fallow  deer, 
Bearing  their  long  bows  with  thee." 

7.  "  Dost  thou  not  mind,  old  woman,"  he  said, 

"  Since  thou  made  me  sup  and  dine  ? 
By  the  truth  of  my  body,""  (juoth  bold  Robin  Hood, 
"  You  could  not  tell  it  in  better  time." 

8.  Now  Robin  Hood  is  to  Nottingham  gone, 

With  a  link  a  down  and  a  day. 


110  POPULAR  BALLADS 

And  there  he  met  with  a  silly  old  palmer, 
Was  walking  along  the  highway. 


9.  "  What  news?  what  news,  thou  silly  old  man? 
What  news,  I  do  thee  pray?" 
Said  he,  "  Three  squires  in  Nottingham  town 
Are  condemnd  to  die  this  day." 

10.  "  Come  change  thy  apparel  with  me,  old  man, 

Come  change  thy  apparel  for  mine ; 
Here  is  forty  shillings  in  good  silver, 
Go  drink  it  in  beer  or  wine." 

11.  "  O  thine  apparel  is  good,"  he  said, 

"  And  mine  is  ragged  and  torn ; 
Whereever  you  go,  wherever  you  ride, 
Lauofh  neer  an  old  man  to  scorn." 

12.  "  Come  change  thy  apparel  with  me,  old  churl, 

Come  change  thy  apparel  with  mine  ; 
Here  are  twenty  pieces  of  good  broad  gold, 
Go  feast  thy  brethern  with  wine." 

13.  Then  he  put  on  the  old  man's  hat. 

It  stood  full  high  on  the  crown  : 
"  The  first  bold  bargain  that  I  come  at, 
It  shall  make  thee  come  down." 

14.  Then  he  put  on  the  old  man's  cloak. 

Was  patchd  black,  blew,  and  red ; 
He  thouglit  no  shame  all  the  day  long 
To  wear  the  ba^s  of  bread. 


POPULAR  BALLADS  111 

15.  Then  be  put  on  the  old  man's  breeks, 

Was  patehd  from  balhip  to  side  ; 
"  B}^  the  truth  of  uiy  body,"  boLl  Robin  can  say, 
"  This  man  lovd  little  pride." 

16.  Then  he  put  on  the  old  man's  hose, 

Were  patched  from  knee  to  wrist; 
"  By  the  truth  of  my  body,"  said  bold  Robin  Hood, 
"  I'd  laugh  if  I  had  any  Hst." 

17.  Then  he  put  on  the  old  man's  shoes. 

Were  patched  both  beneath  and  aboon ; 
Then  Robin  Hood  swore  a  solemn  oath, 
"  It 's  good  habit  that  makes  a  man." 

18.  Now  Robin  Hood  is  to  Nottingham  gone, 

With  a  link  a  down  and  a  down. 
And  there  he  met  with  the  proud  sheriff, 
Was  walking  along  the  town. 

19.  "O  save,  O  save,  O  sheriff,"  he  said, 

"  O  save,  and  you  may  see ! 
And  what  will  you  give  to  a  silly  old  man 
To-day  will  your  hangman  be  ?  " 

20.  "  Some  suits,  some  suits,"  the  sheriff  he  said, 

"  Some  suits  I  '11  give  to  thee  ; 
Some  suits,  some  suits,  and  pence  thirteen 
To-day 's  a  hangman's  fee." 

21.  Tlicn  Robin  lie  turns  liim  round  about, 

And  jnm])s  froin  stock  to  stone  ; 
"  By  the  trutli  of  my  body,"  the  sheriff  he  said, 
"That's  well  jumpt,  thou  nimble  old  man." 


112  POPULAR   BALLADS 

22.  "  I  was  neer  a  hangman  in  all  my  life, 

Nor  yet  intends  to  trade  ; 
But  curst  be  he,"  said  bold  Robin, 
"  That  first  a  hangman  was  made. 

23.  "  I  've  a  bag  for  meal,  and  a  bag  for  malt, 

And  a  bag  for  barley  and  corn  ; 
A  bag  for  bread,  and  a  bag  for  beef. 
And  a  bag  for  my  little  small  horn. 

24.  "  I  have  a  horn  in  my  pocket, 

I  got  it  from  Robin  Hood, 
And  still  when  I  set  it  to  my  mouth, 
For  thee  it  blows  little  good." 

26.  "  O  wind  thy  horn,  thou  proud  fellow, 
Of  thee  I  have  no  doubt ; 
I  wish  that  thou  give  such  a  blast 
Till  both  thy  eyes  fall  out." 

26.  The  first  loud  blast  that  he  did  blow, 

He  blew  both  loud  and  shrill ; 
A  hundred  and  fifty  of  Robin  Hood's  men 
Came  riding  over  the  hill. 

27.  The  next  loud  blast  that  he  did  give, 

He  blew  both  loud  and  amain. 
And  quickly  sixty  of  Robin  Hood's  men 
Came  shining  over  the  plain. 

28.  "  O  who  are  yon,"  the  sheriff  he  said, 

"  Come  tripping  over  the  lee  ?  " 
"The 're  my  attendants,"  brave  Robin  did  say, 
"  They  '11  pay  a  visit  to  thee." 


POPULAR   BALLADS  113 

29.  They  took  the  gallows  from  the  slack, 
They  set  it  in  the  glen, 
They  hangd  the  proud  sheriff  on  that, 
Releasd  their  own  three  men. 


NOTES 

THE  DOUGLAS  TRAGEDY 

The  text  is  that  printed  by  Child  (I,  100)  from  Scott's 
Minstrelsy  of  the  Scottish  Border.  There  are  eleven  ver- 
sions of  this  ballad,  which  is  otherwise  known  as  Earl  Brand 
or  Earl  o'Bran,  Lord  Douglas,  Lady  Margaret,  The  Child 
of  Ell.  Child  marks  this  ballad  as  preserving  •'  most  of  the 
incidents  of  a  very  ancient  story  with  a  faithfulness  un- 
equalled by  any  ballad  that  has  been  recovered  from  English 
oral  tradition."  The  most  primitive  form  is  Scandinavian 
and  runs  briefly  as  follows :  Ribold,  a  king's  son,  wins 
secretly  the  love  of  Guldborg.  He  promises  to  carry  her  to 
a  land  of  perpetual  happiness  if  she  can  escape  from  her 
family  and  her  betrothed.  She  disguises  herself  in  Ribold's 
armor  and  they  proceed  safely  until  they  meet  an  earl  who 
challenges  Ribold,  "  Whither  away  with  your  stolen  maid  ?  " 
Ribold  swears  that  it  is  his  sister,  and  then  tries  to  bribe  the 
earl  to  silence  ;  but  to  no  avail.  Guldborg's  father  is  warned 
of  their  flight,  and  her  kinsmen  start  in  pursuit.  When  they 
overtake  them  Ribold  dismounts,  bids  Guldborg  hold  his  horse 
and,  whatever  happens,  not  call  him  by  name :  "  Though 
thou  see  me  bleed,  name  me  not  to  death  ;  though  thou  see 
me  fall,  name  me  not  at  all."  He  kills  all  his  pursuers,  but 
when  he  comes  to  the  youngest  brother  Guldborg's  agony 
calls  upon  Ribold  to  spare  him  to  bear  the  tidings  back  to 
her  mother.  As  soon  as  his  name  is  spoken,  Ribold  receives 
his  death  wound.  Sheathing  his  sword,  he  offers  Guldborg 
the  opportunity  of  going  back  to  her  mother.  But  she  chooses 
to  follow  her  "  heart's  dearest  man."  And  when  she  ques- 
tions his  silence  as  they  ride  together  through  the  wood,  he 
only  replies,  "  Thy  brother's  sword  has  been  in  my  heart." 


NOTES  115 

They  reach  Ribold's  house  at  night,  and  before  morning 
Ribold  is  dead.  In  our  version,  — 

Lord  William  was  dead  lang  ere  midnight, 
Lady  Margret  laiig  ere  day. 

In  others,  Guldborg  slays  herself  and  dies  in  Ribold's 
arms.  Tlie  Douglas  Trar/ed >/hegms  with  the  exhortation  of 
Lady  Margret's  mother  to  her  husband  and  sons  to  pursue 
the  lovei's.  The  scene  of  the  fight  is  particularly  well  ])re- 
served  here ;  but  the  incident  of  the  "  dead-naming  "  (cf. 
above,  "Though  thou  see  me  bleed,"  etc.)  is  wholly  lost. 
The  penalty  of  naming  the  hero  in  a  crisis  appears  in  many 
Scandinavian  traditions ;  and  Whittier's  Kallundhorg 
Church  retells  such  a  "  wild  tale  of  the  North."' 

"  The  ballad  of  The  Douglas  Tragedy  is  one  of  the  few 
to  which  popular  tradition  has  ascribed  complete  locality. 
The  farm  of  Blackhouse,  in  Selkirkshire,  is  said  to  have 
been  the  scene  of  this  melancholy  event.  There  are  the 
remains  of  a  very  ancient  tower,  adjacent  to  the  farmhouse, 
in  a  wild  and  solitary  glen,  upon  a  torrent  named  Douglas 
burn,  which  joins  the  Yarrow  after  passing  a  craggy  rock 
called  the  Douglas  craig.  .  .  .  From  this  ancient  tower 
Lady  Max'garet  is  said  to  have  been  carried  by  her  lover. 
Seven  large  stones,  erected  upon  the  neighboring  heights  of 
Blackhouse,  are  shown  as  marking  the  spot  where  the  seven 
brethren  were  slain ;  and  the  Douglas  burn  is  averred  to 
have  been  the  stream  at  which  the  lovers  stopped  to  drink  : 
so  minute  is  tradition  in  ascertaining  the  scene  of  a  tragical 
tale,  which,  considering  the  rude  state  of  former  times,  had 
probably  foundation  in  some  real  event."  —  Scott. 

19.  And  they  twa  met,  etc.:  "The  beautiful  fancy  of 
plants  springing  from  the  graves  of  star-crossed  lovers,  and 
signifying  by  the  intertwining  of  stems  or  leaves,  or  in  other 
analogous  ways,  that  an  earthly  passion  has  not  been  ex- 
tinguished by  death,  presents  itself,  as  is  well  known,  very 
frequently  in  popular  poetry.  Though  the  graves  be  made 
far  apart,  even  on  oi)posite  sides  of  the  churcli,  or  one  to 


116  NOTES 

the  north  and  one  to  the  south  outside  of  the  church,  or  one 
without  kirk  wall  and  one  in  choir,  however  separated,  the 
vines  or  trees  seek  one  another  out,  and  mingle  their 
branches  or  their  foliage." — Child.  Cf.  Lord  Thomas  and 
Fair  Annet  in  this  collection,  or  Fair  Margaret  and  Sweet 
William,  Fair  Janet,  Prince  Robert,  and  Lord  Lovel  in 
Sargent  and  Kittredge,  English  and  Scottish  Popular 
Ballads. 

20.  St.  Mary's  Loch:  really  a  widening  of  the  Yarrow 
in  Selkirkshire.  Wordsworth's  lines  in  Yarrow  Unvisited, 
come  at  once  to  mind  :  — 

The  swan  on  still  St.  Mary's  Lake 
Float  double,  swan  and  shadow. 


THE  TWA  SISTERS 

The  text  is  that  printed  by  Child  (I,  127)  from  the 
Jamieson-Brown  MS.  (there  are  three  sets  of  the  ballads 
recited  by  Mrs.  Brown,  known  from  the  names  of  their 
owners  as  the  Jamieson-Brown  MS.,  the  William  Tytler- 
Brown  MS.,  and  the  Alexander  Fraser  Tytler-Brown  MS.) 
excepting  that  Scott's  refrain,  "  Binnorie,  O  Binnorie  "  is  in- 
troduced as  being  more  melodious  and  less  confusing  than 
Mrs.  Brown's,  which  runs  as  follows  :  — 

There  was  twa  sisters  in  a  bowr, 

Edinburgh,  Edinburg-h. 
There  was  twa  sisters  in  a  bowr, 

Stirling  for  ay. 
There  was  twa  sisters  in  a  bowr, 
There  came  a  knight  to  be  their  wooer. 

Bonny  Saint  Johnston  stands  upon  Tay. 

There  are  twenty-seven  versions  of  this  ballad,  and  it  is 
known  by  many  other  titles,  as  :  The  Miller  and  the  King's 
Daughter,  The  Cruel  Sister,  The  Bonnie  Milldams  of 
Binnorie,  The  Bonny  Bows  o  London,  The  Miller  s 
Melody.  This   ballad  was  very  early  in  print,  a  broadside 


NOTES  117 

copy  having  been  published  in  1656.  Child  affirms  that  ver- 
sions of  it  are  still  alive  as  tradition  in  the  British  Isles, 
"  generally  traced  to  some  old  nurse,  who  sang  them  to  the 
young  ladies."  It  was  a  popular  ballad  also  among  the 
Scandinavians,  all  of  whose  versions  end  with  the  taking  of 
the  harp  to  the  wedding  of  the  elder  sister  and  the  betrothed 
of  the  drowned  maiden.  Most  of  the  English  versions  are 
imperfect  at  the  end  and  none  of  them  give  this  wedding 
scene.  In  all  of  them  some  part  of  the  maiden's  body  is 
taken  for  the  making  of  the  harp,  or  viol,  or  fiddle.  This 
is  suggested  in  our  version  with  delicacy  and  beauty  ;  but  in 
others  the  idea  deteriorated  into  a  grotesque  treatment.  Cf. 
from  The  Miller  and  the  King's  Daughter  (Child,  I, 
126):  — 

What  did  he  doe  with  her  brest-hone  ? 
He  made  him  a  ■violl  to  play  thereupon. 

What  did  he  doe  with  her  fingers  so  small  ? 
He  made  him  peggs  to  his  violl  withall. 

What  did  he  doe  with  her  nose-ridge  ? 
Unto  his  violl  he  made  him  a  bridge. 

What  did  he  doe  with  her  veynes  so  blew  ? 
He  made  him  strings  to  his  violl  thereto. 

What  did  he  doe  with  her  eyes  so  bright  ? 
Upon  his  violl  he  played  at  first  sight. 

Wliat  did  he  doe  with  her  tongue  so  rough  ? 
Unto  the  violl  it  spoke  enough. 

What  did  he  doe  with  her  two  shinnes  ? 
Unto  the  violl  they  danc'd  Moll  Syms. 

THE  CRUEL  BROTHER 

The  text  is  that  printed  by  Child  (I,  145)  from  Alex- 
ander Eraser  Tytler's  Brown  MS.  There  are  fifteen  versions 
of  the  ballad,  which  is  also  known  as  The  Three  Knights 
and  Fine  Flowers  of  the   Valley.   Child  quotes  Aytoun's 


118  NOTES 

remark,  that  "  this  is,  jjerhaps,  the  most  popular  of  all  Scot- 
tish ballads,  being  commonly  recited  and  sung  even  at  the 
present  day  (1858)."  In  all  versions  the  story  turns  upon 
the  lady's  forgetting  to  get  the  consent  of  her  brother  to  her 
marriage, —  an  unpardonable  sin  in  ballad  literature.  Equally 
characteristic  of  ballad  plots  is  the  peculiar  testament  she 
makes,  leaving  all  good  to  those  she  loves,  and  all  evil  to 
the  author  of  her  death.  Cf.  the  following  ballad,  Edivard, 
and  Lord  Randal  (Child,  I,  157).  In  Fine  Flowers  of  the 
Valley  (Aytoun's  version)  the  bequest  to  the  brother  is  still 
more  vindictive :  — 

"  And  what  will  you  leave  to  your  brother  John  ?  " 

(Fine  flowers  i'  the  valley;) 
"  The  gates  o'  hell  to  let  him  in," 

(Wi'  the  red,  green,  and  the  yellow.) 

Gummere  in  his  discussion  of  the  connection  between  bal- 
lads, singing,  and  dancing  in  early  days  {Old  English  Bal- 
lads, Ixxxi,  Ixxxii),  speaks  of  the  game  of  ball  (cf.  1.  1  of 
The  Cruel  Brother)  which  often  accompanied  the  dancing. 
"  The  German  Neidhart,"  he  says,  "  who  has  so  much  to  say 
about  peasants'  dancing,  mentions  a  gay-colored  ball,  seem- 
ingly as  part  of  the  outfit."  He  quotes  also  from  Bohme  : 
"  In  the  dance,  our  oldest  epic  poems,  — narrative  folk-songs, 
—  were  sung,  and  the  dance  was  the  cause  of  their  making  ; 
the  dance,  and  the  game  of  ball  that  went  with  it,  gave  to 
these  poems  the  name  of  ballad." 

21.  The  silver-shode  steed:  ballad  steeds  were  com- 
monly shod  and  caparisoned  with  silver  and  gold.  Cf. 
Lord  Thomas  and  Fair  Annet,  stanza  16  ;  Thomas  Rymer, 
stanza  2 ;  Young  Waters,  stanza  4 ;  The  Lass  of  Rock  Royal, 
stanza  4. 

28.  rive  his  hair:  cf.  Bonnie  George  Campbell,  stanza  3. 

EDWARD 

The  text  is  that  printed  by  Child  (I,  169)  from  Percy's 
Reliqices.   There  are  three  versions,  one  only  a  fragment,  by 


NOTES  119 

the  same  title.  Professor  Child  says :  "  The  affectedly  an- 
tique spelling  in  Percy's  copy  has  given  rise  to  vague  sus- 
picions concerning  the  authenticity  of  tlie  ballad,  or  of  the 
language ;  but  as  spelling  will  not  make  an  old  ballad,  so  it 
will  not  unmake  one.  We  have,  but  do  not  need,  the  later 
traditional  copy  (Motherwell's  Minstrelsy)  to  prove  the 
other  genuine.  Edward  is  not  only  unimpeachable,  but  has 
ever  been  regarded  as  one  of  tbe  noblest  and  most  sterling 
specimens  of  the  popular  ballad."  Professor  Gummere,  on 
this  point,  writes  {The  Fopular  Ballad,  171)  :  "  'Edward,' 
which  the  latest  editor  of  tlie  '  Minstrelsy '  calls  a  '  doctored  ' 
ballad,  with  its  hint  to  Heinrich  Heine  for  one  of  the 
finest  verses  in  the  '  Two  Grenadiers,'  with  its  slow,  strong 
movement,  its  effective  repetition,  its  alternating  refrain  of 
simple  vocatives,  may  be  doctored  ;  but  would  that  its  pby- 
sician  could  be  found  !  "  There  is  an  exact  counterpart  of 
this  ballad  of  "tragedy  of  kin  "  in  Swedish,  other  versions 
in  Danish  and  Finnish,  and  all  in  the  dialogue  form  between 
mother  and  son.  But  the  last  stanza  of  Edward  contains 
the  only  suggestion  that  the  mother  was  implicated  in  the 
guilt  of  the  murder, — a  touch  which  adds  vastly  to  the 
pathos  of  the  ballad.  The  fragmentar}'  version  (IMS.  of  Al- 
exander Laing,  1829 ;  Child,  I,  170)  contains  the  only  re- 
ference to  the  original  quarrel :  — 

"  O  what  did  the  fray  begin  ahout  ? 

My  sun.  come  tell  to  me  :  " 
'■  It  bej^an  about  the  breaking'  o  the  bonny  hazel  wand 

And  a  penny  wad  hae  boui;ht  the  tree." 

Edward  furnishes  an  unusuuUy  convincing  illustration  of 
the  chief  structural  feature  of  the  popular  ballad, — simple 
repetition  with  incremental  changes  that  slowly  but  surely 
advance  the  story  ;  of  its  chief  choral  feature,  —  the  sing- 
able refrain  ;  and  of  one  of  its  inherited  epic  features,  — 
dialogue.    See  Introduction,  p.  xvi  If. 


120  NOTES 

BABYLON ;  OR,  THE  BONNIE  BANKS  0  FORDIE 

The  text  is  that  printed  by  Child  (I,  173)  from  Mother- 
well's Minstrelsy.  There  are  six  versions,  otherwise  known  as 
The  Banishd  Man  and  The  Duke  of  Perth's  Three  Daugh- 
ters.  There  are  traditional  versions  of  Babylon  among  all 
the  Scandinavian  people,  some  of  which  have  not  yet  found 
their  way  into  print.  The  tragedy  in  the  Danish  version  is 
of  a  deeper  dye,  from  the  fact  that  the  robbers  there  appear 
to  the  three  ladies,  not  when  they  are  jjulling  a  forbidden 
flower,  —  which  was  always  sure  to  call  up  the  daemon  of  the 
place  (cf.  Tarn  Lin,  Child,  I,  340),  — but  when  they  are  on 
their  way  to  church  to  make  up  at  high  mass  for  having 
overslept  their  matins.  Professor  Gummei-e  {The  Popular 
Ballad,  111  ff.,  336)  cites  this  as  the  best  example  of  the 
"situation  ballad."  "  Here,"  he  says,  "the  situation  retains 
its  sovereignty,  and  keej^s  the  ballad  brief,  abrupt,  springing 
and  pausing,  full  of  incremental  repetition,  and  mainly  in 
dialogue  form.  Pages  of  description  cannot  take  the  ])lace 
of  the  ballad  itself.  .  .  .  That  the  situation  is  fairly  explo- 
sive in  its  ti'agic  outcome  must  not  blind  us  to  the  fact  that 
it  is  a  situation.  Who  the  three  ladies  were,  why  the  brother 
was  banished,  all  the  essentials  of  a  narrative,  in  short,  are 
wanting,  Maupassant  in  his  kind  of  art,  the  Icelandic  saga 
in  its  kind  of  art,  would  have  worked  all  this  out.  Tlie 
longer  romantic  ballad  itself  would  have  come  to  terms, 
however  briefly  and  awkwardly,  with  persons,  place,  time. 
Here  no  persons  are  described  ;  as  merely  '  a  banished  man,' 
the  hero's  name  is  indifferent ;  the  place  is  a  fortuitous  and 
meaningless  part  of  the  refrain  ;  the  time  is  vague.  .  .  .  Its 
art,  like  the  art  of  painting,  of  sculpture,  lies  in  the  moment 
and  in  the  moment's  scope.  .  .  .  To  accent  this  impression 
one  has  only  to  contrast  with  '  Babylon  '  a  purely  narrative 
ballad  of  the  best  type,  say  '  Robin  Hood  and  the  Monk  '  or 
'  Robin  Hood  and  Guy  of  Gisborne.'  .  .  .  One  gets  not  even 
a  motive,  not  a  shred  of  fact,  for  solution  of  this  tragedy  ; 
take  it  or  leave  it,  —  but  the  situation  is  tlie  thing.    A  light- 


NOTES  121 

ning  flash  reveals  it,  and  the  dark  straightway  swallows  it  np ; 
who  can  study  poses,  faces,  expressions,  anything  but  the 
group  and  that  swift  climax  of  a  merely  hinted  compli- 
cation ?  " 

HINDHORX 

The  text  is  that  printed  by  Child  (I,  201)  from  Mother- 
well's i\IS.  There  are  nine  versions  of  the  ballad,  which  is 
variously  known  as  Young  Hyndhorn,  Young  Hyn  Horn, 
Hynd  Horn,  Lowran  Castle  or  the  Wild  Boar  of  Ciirrldoo. 
A  complete  copy  of  this  ballad  was  first  given  in  1827  (Kin- 
loch's  Ancient  Scottish  Ballads).  The  ballad  gives  only 
the  catastrophe  of  a  story  to  be  found  in  full  in  the  Gest 
of  King  Horn,  thirteenth  century  ;  in  a  French  romance, 
Horn  et  Rymenhild,  fourteenth  century  ;  and  in  Horn 
Childe  and  Maiden  Rimnild,  English,  and  also  of  the 
fourteenth  century.  Many  of  the  incidents  of  the  story 
occur  in  Scandinavian,  German,  and  Swiss  tradition  ;  and 
the  part  played  by  the  ring  is  duplicated  in  one  of  Boccac- 
cio's tales  in  the  Decameron,  in  a  popular  Greek  ballad,  and 
in  a  Russian  romance.  This  merely  proves  how  certain  bal- 
lad incidents,  such  as  the  "  recognition  "  incident  and  the 
"test"  incident  (here,  the  ti'ansformation  of  the  ring),  are 
part  of  the  world's  common  literary  possessions,  and,  drift- 
ing about,  find  a  resting-place  here  and  there  in  various  set- 
tings. The  whole  is  a  splendid  example  of  a  ballad-comedy, 
in  which  poetic  justice  brings  happiness  out  of  a  seemingly 
hopeless  tragic  confusion.  Although  this  is  distinctly  a  bal- 
lad of  situation,  it  is  interesting  to  compare  it  with  Baby- 
lon and  note  how  much  more  it  contains  of  introduction, 
explanation,  and  incident. 

3.  seven  living  lavrocks :  possibly  these  birds  were  to 
tell  Horn  what  happened  in  his  absence.  Cf.  with  the 
agency  of  the  birds  in  The  Gay  Goss-Hawk,  Johnie  Cock, 
and  Young  Hunting  (Child,  II,  144). 

8.  "  What  news,  wliat  aeivs  ?  "  etc.  :  Child  suggests  that 
these  stanzas  (8-lG)  may  have   been    burrowed   from  some 


122  NOTES 

Robin  Hood  ballad.  Cf.  Robin  Hood  Rescuing  the 
Widoiv's  Three  Sons,  stanzas  9-18. 

13.  JVm  you  lend  me  your  ivig  o  hair  ?  etc. :  since  the 
ballad  heroes  and  heroines  are  always  fair-haired,  Hind 
Horn  finds  a  dark  wig  sufficient  disguise. 

17.  The  bride  came  down,  etc. :  the  dramatic  touch  of 
her  coming  in  person  is  pointed  more  sharply  in  another 
version  (in  Motherwell's  MS.  as  taken  down  from  the  sing- 
ing of  a  servant)  :  — 

The  news  unto  the  bomiie  bride  came 
That  at  the  yett  there  stands  an  auld  man. 

"  There  stands  an  auld  man  at  the  Icing's  gate ; 
He  asketh  a  drink  for  Young  Hyn  Horn's  sake." 

"  I  '11  go  through  nine  fires  so  hot, 
But  I  '11  give  him  a  drink  for  young  Hyn  Horn's  sake." 

She  gave  him  a  drink  out  of  her  own  hand ; 

He  drank  out  the  drink  and  he  dropt  iu  tlie  ring. 

LORD  THOMAS  AND  FAIR  ANNET 

The  text  is  that  printed  by  Child  (II,  182)  from  Percy's 
Meliques,  "  with  some  corrections  from  a  MS.  copy  trans- 
mitted from  Scotland."  There  are  ten  versions  of  the  bal- 
lad (two  having  been  learned  in  America  from  Irish  maid 
servants  in  Cambridge  and  Taunton,  Massachusetts),  which 
is  otherwise  known  as  The  Nut-Brown  Maid,  The  Brotvn 
Bride  and  Lord  Thomas,  Lord  Thomas  and  Fair  Ellinor, 
Sweet  Willie  and  Fair  Annie.  Similar  ballads  in  French, 
Italian,  and  Norse  testify  to  the  general  love  and  aj^precia- 
tion  of  the  story.  Child  speaks  of  it  as  "  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  of  our  ballads,  and  indeed  of  all  ballads." 

1.  They  had  not  talkt  their  fill :  another  version  (Jamie- 
son's  Fopular  Ballads)  says  :  — 

And  though  they  had  sitten  seven  years, 
They  neer  wad  had  their  fill. 


NOTES  123 

3.  Gif  ye  wull  nevir  wed  a  ivife,  etc. :  the  version  in  the 
Gibb  MS.  represents  Annie  as  not  so  spirited  in  her  answer :  — 

Thick,  tliiek  lie  your  lands,  Willie, 

And  thin,  thin  lie  mine  ; 
An  little  wad  a'  your  friends  think 
O  sic  a  kin  as  mine. 

And  in  still  another  version  (Skene  MS.)  more  sorrow  and 
less  liaste  is  shown  by  Lord  Thomas :  — 

Willie  is  hame  to  his  bower, 

To  his  book  all  alaue. 
And  fair  Annie  is  to  her  bower, 

To  her  book  and  her  seam. 

4.  0  rede,  mither,  etc. :  an  interesting  account  of  the 
parts  played  by  the  mother  and  the  mother-in-law  in  ballad 
literature  may  be  found  in  Gummere,  The  PojJidar  Ballad, 
111  ff. 

8.  a  fat  fadge  hy  the  fijre :  an  alliteration  quite  unusual 
in  ballad  verse.  If  one  is  out  of  patience  with  the  fickleness 
of  Lord  Thomas,  he  may  read  the  other  versions  (Child,  II, 
182-199),  in  many  of  which  he  ])leads,  "O  fair  is  Annie's 
face"  and  '•white  is  Annie's  hand"  and, 

"  Sheep  will  die  in  cots,  mither, 
And  owsen  die  in  byre  ; 
And  what 's  this  world's  wealth  to  me 
An  I  get  na  my  heart's  desire  ?  " 

—  Jamieson's  Popular  Ballads. 

10.  "/'se  rede  ye  tak  Fair  Annet,"  etc.:  although  wo 
are  suj)posed  never  to  look  behind  the  scenes  in  balhids,  and 
to  expect  nothing  so  little  as  suggestion,  yet  we  can  hardly 
help  surmising  something  of  the  history  of  this  woman  who 
])leads  for  love  for  love's  sake.  As  if  it  were  not  even  a  de- 
batable question,  another  version  (Kinloch  MSS.)  reads 
bluntly :  — 

Out  and  spak  his  sister  Jane, 
Where  she  sat  be  the  fire  : 
"  What's  the  raetter,  brother  Willie  ? 
Taek  ye  your  heart's  desire." 


124  NOTES 

11.  No,  I  ivlll  tak,  etc. :  an  instance  of  the  sudden  turn 
a  ballad  sometimes  takes  without  any  trace  of  the  process 
of  tlie  actor's  mind. 

12.  Up  then  rose  fair  A  nnefs  father :  in  the  version  last 
quoted  Loi-d  Thomas  has  the  grace  to  break  the  news  to 
Annie  himself,  considerately  allowing  that  it  is  "  gey  sad 
news  "  to  her.  And  in  still  another  (Motherwell  MS.)  where 
he  sends  a  messenger  to  Annie  he  evidently  fears  that  the 
sight  of  her  at  his  wedding  in  her  usual  dainty  garments 
would  be  too  much  for  him,  for  he  forbids  her  to  jmt  on 
her  silks  "so  black,"  "so  brown,"  "so  green,"  or  "so 
gray," 

But  she  must  put  on  her  suddled  silks, 
That  she  wears  every  day. 

But  Annie's  decision  is  invariably  to  go  shining  "  like  onie 
queen."  And  in  addition  to  the  preparations  described  here, 
in  the  version  of  the  Kinloch  MSS. :  — 

She  's  orderd  the  smiths  to  the  smithy, 

To  shoe  her  a  riding  steed ; 
She  has  orderd  the  tailors  to  her  bouer, 

To  dress  her  a  riding  weed. 

The  gold,  silver,  and  fine  linen  which  Annie's  poverty 
seem  able  to  command  are  only  an  instance  of  ballad  incon- 
sistency. 

19.  skinkled :  a  delightful  bit  of  word  coininsr. 

21.  Lord  Thomas  he  clean  for  gat,  etc. :  another  version 
(Motherwell's  MS.)  says  that  the  result  of  his  emotion  was 
that,  — 

The  buttons  on  Lord  Thomas'  coat 
Brusted  and  hrak  in  twa. 

23.  Up  thanspak  the  niit-hrowne  bride,  etc. :  in  several 
other  versions  it  is  Annie  who  gives  the  first  thrust,  as  in 
the  last  quoted,  — 

"Brown,  brown  is  your  steed,"  she  says, 
But  browner  is  your  bride  ; 
But  gallant  is  that  handkerehy 
That  hideth  her  din  hide." 


NOTES  125 

26.  wood-xm'oth:  madly  wroth. 

29.  Lord  Thomas  was  buried,  etc. :  in  one  of  the  Ameri- 
can versions  he  gave  the  directions  :  — 

"  Bury  my  mother  at  my  head, 
Fair  Ellenor  by  my  side, 
And  bury  the  bonny  brown  girl  at  the  end  of  the  church, 
Where  she  will  be  far  from  me." 

And  the  same  version  ends  :  — 

They  grew  so  tall,  they  sprung  so  brood, 

They  grew  to  a  steeple  top; 
Twelve  o'clock  every  night 

They  grew  to  a  true  lover's  knot. 


LOVE   GREGOR 

The  text  is  that  printed  by  Child  (II,  221)  from  Alexan- 
der Eraser  Tytler's  Brown  MS.  There  are  thirteen  versions 
of  the  ballad,  which  is  otherwise  known  as  Fair  Isabell  of 
Rochroyall,  The  Bonny  Lass  of  Lochroyan,  Lord  Gregory, 
Fair  Anny,  and  The  Lass  of  Aiiffhrim.  In  one  vei'sion 
(Child,  II,  215)  we  have  a  chain  of  preliminary  episodes  in 
which  Annie  dreams  of  her  lover,  dresses  herself  like  a  prin- 
cess to  go  and  find  him,  is  directed  to  his  castle  by  three 
robbers  (?),  and  there  meets  with  the  reception  from  his 
mother  that  is  described  in  the  version  here  j)rinted.  A 
break,  then,  where  some  stanzas  are  probably  lost,  leaves  us 
to  conclude  that  she  goes  home  and  broods  upon  her  de- 
sertion. Then  the  story  continues  with  the  opening  ques- 
tions of  our  version.  This  form  affords  a  good  example  of 
the  ballad  of  two  situations  (see  Gummere,  The  Popular 
Ballad,  90),  which,  while  it  is  perfectly  coherent,  teases  us  by 
being  a  "  continued  story  "  instead  of  the  single  dramatic 
climax  of  a  chain  of  incidents,  which  we  may  conjecture  if 
we  like  but  with  which  we  expect  the  ballad  to  concern  itself 
not  at  all. 

1.  0  wha  'will  shoe  my  fu  fair  foot,  etc.  :  in  another 
version  (Herd's  MS.)  the  iiiot.lier's  anxiety  is  all  for  her 


126  NOTES 

little  son,  and  the  "  my  "  of  the  first  two  stanzas  hecomes 
"thy." 

4.  A7id  the  king  of  heaven,  etc. :  seldom  does  the  incre- 
mental repetition  of  the  ballad  bring  itself  to  so  rich  a  climax. 

6.  a  bonny  boat :  how  bonny  is  told  in  another  version 
(Herd's  MS.)  : 

Then  she  's  g-art  build  a  bonny  ship, 

It 's  a'  cored  oer  with  pearl, 
And  at  every  needle-tack  was  in, 

There  hung  a  siller  bell. 

But  when  the  mother  turns  her  away  she  says :  — 

"  Take  down,  take  down  that  mast  o  gould. 
Set  up  a  mast  of  tree ; 
For  it  dinna  become  a  forsaken  lady 
To  sail  so  royallie." 

10.  Awa,  awa,  ye  ill  ivoman :  this  is,  of  course,  the  voice 
of  Love  Gregor's  mother. 

11.  Bough  Royal :  Child  says,  "  Roch-  or  Rough-Royal 
...  I  have  not  found  ;  but  there  is  a  Rough  Castle  in  Stir- 
lingshire." 

14.  0  yotirs  tvas  good,  etc. :  Annie  is  not  so  gentle  in 
other  versions.  In  Fair  Isabell  of  Rocliroyall  (Child,  II, 
215)  she  says  :  — 

"  Mine  was  of  tiie  massy  gold, 
And  thiue  was  of  the  tin  ; 
Mine  was  true  and  trusty  both, 
And  thine  was  false  within."' 

And  here  also  further  love-tokens  seem  to  have  been 
exchanged,  Annie  always  getting  the  little  end  of  the 
bargain :  — 

"  Have  you  not  mind,  Love  Gregory, 
Since  we  sat  at  the  wine. 
We  changed  the  smocks  off  our  two  backs, 
And  ay  the  worst  fell  mine  ? 

"  Mine  was  of  the  holland  fine. 

And  thine  was  coarse  and  thin  ; 
So  mony  blocks  have  we  two  made, 
And  ay  the  worst  was  mine." 


NOTES  127 

21.  0  he  has  gone  down,  etc.  :  in  other  versions  he  sad- 
dles his  steed  to  ride  after  Annie,  but  meets  her  dead  body 
being  carried  to  tlie  church  ;  he  rips  open  the  winding  sheet 
with  his  penknife,  kisses  her  on  cheek,  chin,  and  lips  until 
he  knows  she  is  dead,  then  stabs  himself. 

25.  Fair  Annie's  corpse  lay  at  his  feet :  in  Jamieson's 
Popular  Ballads  (Child,  II,  220)  he  is  more  desperate  and 
more  heroic  :  — 

He  saw  his  young  son  in  her  arms,' 

Baith  tossed  aboon  the  tide  ; 
He  wrang'  his  hands,  tlian  fast  he  ran, 

An  plung'd  i  the  sea  sue  wide. 

He  catchd  her  by  the  yallow  hair, 

An  drew  her  to  the  strand, 
But  cauld  an  stiff  was  every  limb 

Before  he  reachd  the  land. 

28.  0  ivae  betide,  etc. :  tliis  last  stanza  is  disappointing ; 
that  of  the  version  last  quoted  satisfies  poetic  justice 
better :  — 

0  he  has  mourned  oer  Fair  Anny 

Till  the  sun  was  going'  dosvn, 
Then  wi  a  sigh  his  heart  it  brast. 
An  his  soul  to  heaven  has  flown. 


BONNY  BARBARA  ALLAN 

The  text  is  that  printed  by  Child  (II,  276)  from  Ramsay's 
Tea-Table  Miscellany.  There  are  three  versions  of  this  bal- 
lad, which  is  also  known  as  Barbara  Allen's  Cruelty  and 
Barbara  Allan.  Child  quotes  (II,  276)  an  entry  in  Pepys' 
Diary  speaking  of  his  ''  perfect  pleasure  "  in  the  "  little 
Scotch  Song " ;  and  Goldsmith's  testimony  (third  essay, 
1765)  that  a  dairy  maid  once  sang  him  "  into  tears  "  with 
this  song.  We  recall,  also,  in  The  Vicar  of  Wakefield, : 
"  These  harmless  people  had  several  ways  of  being  good 
company ;  while  one  played  tlie  pipes,  another  wouhl  sing 
some  soothing  ballad,  'Johnny  Armstrong's  Last  Goodnight ' 


128  NOTES 

or  'The  Cruelty  of  Barbara  Allen.'  "  Its  lyric  element  is  so 
strong  that  Child  sj)eaks  of  it  as"  a  ballad  or  song  ;"  and  Gum- 
mere  {The  Pojndar  Ballad,  p.  116)  says:  "This  lyric  im- 
pulse really  creates  a  third  class  of  ballads,  just  halting  and 
trembling  on  the  border  of  pure  song.  Here  belong  '  Barbara 
Allan  '  and  '  Lady  Alice.'  "  The  latter,  which  is  a  shadow 
of  the  former,  may  be  found  in  Child,  II,  279.  The  story  is 
unusual  in  that  it  tells  of  a  double  fickleness.  It  suggests 
Burns's  Duncan  Grey,  which,  however,  taking  a  whimsical 
view  of  the  situation,  could  hardly  sing  one  "  into  tears." 

1.  Martinmas  time:  cf.  note  on  The  Wife  of  Usher's 
Well;  a  much  more  appropriate  time  for  the  gray  sorrow 
of  the  story  than  the  setting  of  another  version  {Roxburghe 
Ballads  )  :  — 

All  in  the  merry  month  of  May, 

When  green  leaves  they  was  springing-. 

9.  0,  mother,  mother,  etc.  :  before  this  stanza  the  version 
just  quoted  inserts  :  — 

She  turnd  herself  round  about, 

And  she  spy'd  the  corps  a  coming : 
"  Lay  down,  lay  down  the  corps  of  clay, 
That  1  may  look  upon  him." 

And  all  the  while  she  looked  on, 

So  loudly  she  lay  laughing. 
While  all  her  friends  cryd  [out]  amain, 

"  Unworthy  Barbara  Allen  !  " 

LAMKIN 

The  text  is  that  printed  by  Child  (II,  321)  from  Jamie- 
son's  Popular  Ballads.  There  are  twenty-six  versions,  some 
mere  fragments,  in  which  the  hero's  name  appears  variously 
as  Lanikin,  Linkin,  Lamerkin,  Lamerlinkin,  Lankyn,  Lon- 
kin,  Lammikin,  Lambkin,  and  even  Rankin.  But  the  story 
in  all  the  versions  is  the  same,  —  the  revenge  of  the  unpaid 
mason, — with  varying  degrees  of  cruelty. 

1.  payment  got  he  none:  Child  (II,  321)  quotes  from 


NOTES  129 

Motherwell :  "  Indeed,  it  seems  questionable  how  some 
Scottish  lairds  could  well  afford  to  get  themselves  seated  in 
the  large  castles  tliey  once  occupied  unless  they  occasionally 
treated  the  mason  after  the  fashion  adopted  in  this  ballad." 
5.  Bade  his  lady,  etc. :  as  if  he  feared  that  Lamkin's 
threat  would  be  carried  out. 

7.  shot-windoiv :  sometimes  a  bow-window,  sometimes  a 
window  turning  outward  and  upward  upon  an  upper  hori- 
zontal hinge.  In  some  versions  the  nurse  does  not  let 
Lamkin  in,  but  he  finds  for  liimself  a  "  sma  peep  "  or  a 
"  wee  hole "  or  "  one  little  window  that  was  forgot,"  al- 
though the  lord  warned  his  lady  not  to  leave  a  hole  even 
"  for  a  mouse  to  creep  in." 

8.  that  ca  me  Lamkin:  his  contemptuous  tone  would 
seem  to  imply  that  he  did  not  relish  tlie  nickname  that 
jeered  at  his  tame  submission  to  his  lord's  tyranny.  In 
truth,  to  be  called  "  Lamkin  "  might  stir  up  any  man  to 
revenge. 

11.  but  we  soon  can  bring  her  down:  the  torturing  of  the 
child  is  designed  to  bring  the  mother  upon  the  scene  where 
her  own  doom  awaits  her. 

12.  a  deep  wound  and  a  sair :  other  versions,  equally 
distressing  but  less  tragic,  tell  that  the  child  is  only  pinched 
or  pricked  with  a  pin. 

16.  0  still  him  wi  the  wand,  etc.:  from  the  different 
versions  we  get  a  curious  list  of  playthings  that  the  mother 
suggests  —  wand,  bell,  keys,  apples,  pears,  ring,  kame,  knife  ! 
But  the  nurse's  answer  invariably  is  :  — 

"  He  winna  still,  lady, 

till  ye  come  dowu  yoursel." 

18.  0  the  firsten  step  she  steppit.  etc.  :  in  one  version 
(Motherwell's  MS.)  an  interesting  bit  of  baHad  magic  pre- 
cedes this  stanza  :  — 

"  It 's  how  can  I  come  down, 
this  caiild  winter  nicht, 
Without  eer  a  coal, 

or  a  clear  caudle-licht  ?  " 


130  NOTES 

"  There  's  two  smocks  in  your  coffer, 
as  white  as  a  swan ; 
Put  one  of  them  about  you, 
it  will  shew  you  licht  down." 

The  light  reveals  her  clearly  to  Lamkin,  and  after  he  has 
cut  off  her  head,  — 

...  he  bung  't  up  in  the  kitchen, 
it  made  a'  the  ha  shine. 

23.  dowie,  dovde  was  his  heart,  etc.  :  many  points  in  the 
situation  recall  the  return  of  Macduff  after  the  murder  of 
his  wife  and  children.  Cf.  Macbeth,  IV,  ii.  In  the  version 
just  quoted  Lord  Wearie  has  a  sign  of  the  tragedy  :  — 

"  I  wish  a'  may  be  weel 

with  my  lady  at  bame  ; 
For  the  rings  of  my  fingers 
the're  now  burst  in  twain  !  " 

26.  0  sweetly  sang  the  hlack-hird,  etc.  :  this  touch  of 
serene  nature  as  a  foil  to  set  off  the  blackness  of  death  is 
almost  modern.  It  is  cause  for  rejoicing  to  find  that,  accord- 
ing to  one  of  the  versions  in  Motherwell's  MS.,  Lord  Wearie 
lures  the  mason  and  the  nurse  to  him  after  the  manner  of 
their  own  cunning  :  — 

He  sent  for  the  false  nurse, 

to  give  her  her  fee  ; 
All  the  fee  that  he  gave  her 

was  to  hang  her  on  a  tree. 

He  sent  for  Lamerlinkin, 

to  give  him  bis  hire  ; 
All  the  hire  that  he  gave  him 

Was  to  burn  bim  in  the  fire. 


YOUNG  WATERS 

The  text  is  that  printed  by  Child  (II,  343)  from  Percy's 
Eeliques,  1765.  This  is  the  only  traditional  version  of  the 
ballad.  Motherwell  frankly  said  that  he  could  find  no  other. 
Buchan  produced  a  version  of  thirty-nine  stanzas,  in  which, 


NOTES  131 

says  Child,  everything  that  is  not  in  this  version  "is  a 
counterfeit  of  the  lowest  descrii^tion."  It  was  suggested  by 
Aytoun  that  the  story  was  actually  connected  with  Scottish 
history,  young  Waters  possibly  being  one  of  the  nobles  put 
to  death  by  James  I  upon  his  return  from  England.  Percy 
himself  says :  "  It  has  been  suggested  to  the  editor  that  this 
ballad  covertly  alludes  to  the  indiscreet  partiality  which 
Queen  Anne  of  Denmark  is  said  to  have  shown  for  the 
bonny  Earl  of  Murray ;  and  which  is  supposed  to  have  in- 
fluenced the  fate  of  that  unhappy  nobleman." 

2.  round  tables  :  the  student  here  has  his  choice  of  two  in- 
terpretations. The  '•  round  tables  "  was  a  name  for  a  game 
akin  to  backgammon  ;  and  in  the  reign  of  Henry  III  the 
joust  was  often  called  "the  round  table  game"  because  the 
knights  who  jousted  together  ate  at  a  round  table,  which 
prevented  all  distinction  of  rank  in  the  seating. 

4.  siller-shod  behind  :  cf.  Lord  Thomas  and  Fair  Annet, 
stanza  16. 

6.  lord,  and  I've  sene  laird:  lord  is  the  modern  title; 
laird  means  merely  a  landowner. 

8.  You  're  neither  laird,  etc. :  a  deft  reply  that  is  in 
striking  contrast  to  many  a  blunt  ballad  answer  in  a  delicate 
position. 

11.  Stirling:  a  favorite  residence  of  the  Scottish  sover- 
eigns, on  the  river  Forth.  These  two  stanzas,  the  eleventh 
and  twelfth,  are  among  the  most  effective  death  laments  in 
all  balladry. 

13.  heiditig-hill:  a  place  of  execution  still  called  the 
"  Heading  Hill." 

THE  GAY  GOSS-IIAWK 

The  text  is  that  printed  by  Child  (II,  357)  from  the 
Jaraieson-Brown  MS.  There  are  eight  versions  of  the  ballad, 
otherwise  known  as  The  Jolly  Goshawk  and  The  Scottish 
Squire.  There  are  points  of  similarity  between  this  and  a 
French  ballad   in  wliich   the  maid  Isambourg,  doomed  to 


132  NOTES 

marry  a  husband  of  the  king's  choosing,  plans  with  her 
lover  to  feign  death  and  be  carried  to  burial,  from  which  he 
shall  deliver  her.  This  was  printed  in  1607,  and  the  first 
appearance  of  the  English  ballad  in  print  was  in  1802.  A 
number  of  continental  ballads  contain  the  two  incidents  of 
the  girl's  feigning  death  and  of  the  birds  carrying  the  mes- 
sage. In  Willie's  Lyke-Wake  (Child,  I,  250)  we  have  a 
reversal  of  the  situation,  a  man  feigning  death  in  order  to 
capture  his  maiden  when  she  comes  to  the  wake.  For  other 
instances  of  birds  who  give  information,  see  Toung  Hunti7i(j 
(Child,  II,  144),  Johnie  Cock,  and  recall  the  possible  pur- 
pose of  the  sending  of  the  "seven  living  lavrocks  "  in  Hind- 
horn.  The  substitution  of  a  parrot  in  one  version,  Buchan's, 
says  Child,  "  testifies  to  the  advances  made  by  reason  among 
the  humblest  in  the  later  generations."  Buchan's  belief  was 
that  a  parrot  was  a  "  far  more  likely  messenger  to  carry  a 
love-letter."  True,  but  such  cold  reason  is  death  to  a  ballad. 
3.  0  well  sal  ye  my  true-love  ken:  the  directions  are 
somewhat  indefinite,  since  others'  taste  may  not  coincide 
with  that  of  the  prejudiced  lover. 

13.  Ye  bid  him  hake,  etc :  in  another  version  (Mother- 
well's MS.)  she  sends  pledges  of  love  along  with  her  spirited 
orders : — 

"  I  send  him  the  rings  from  ray  white  fingers, 

The  garlands  off  my  hair  ; 
I  send  him  the  heart  that 's  in  my  breast : 

What  woukl  my  love  have  mair  ? 
And  at  the  fourth  kirk  in  fair  Scotland, 

Ye  'II  bid  him  meet  me  there." 

14.  She's  doen  her  to  her  father  dear:  the  version  just 
quoted  has. here  a  long  line  of  stanzas  in  which,  with  incre- 
mental repetition,  she  exacts  similar  promises  from  her 
mother,  her  sister,  and  seven  brothers.  Then  an  auld  witch 
wife,  as  the  maiden  drops  down  dead,  tries  a  test :  — 

Says,  Drap  the  hot  lead  on  her  cheek, 

And  drop  it  on  her  chin, 
And  drop  it  on  her  rose-red  lips, 

And  she  will  speak  again  : 


NOTES  133 

For  much  a  lady  young-  will  do, 
To  her  true-love  to  win. 

They  draped  the  het  lead  on  her  cheek, 

So  did  they  on  her  chin  ; 
They  drapt  it  ou  her  red-rose  lips, 

But  they  hreathed  none  again. 

23.   The  tither  o  needle  ivark  :  in  Scott's  version, 
And  every  steek  that  they  pat  in 
Sewd  to  a  siller  bell. 

26.  W'l  cherry  cheeks,  etc. :  in  some  versions  three  kisses 
from  her  lover,  in  true  fairy-story  style,  bring  her  to  life. 

28.  sound  your  horn  :  a  triumphant  taunt,  equivalent  to 
"you  may  go  blow  your  whistle." 

THE  THREE  RAVENS  and  THE  TWA  CORBIES 

The  text  of  the  first  is  tliat  printed  by  Child  (I,  254) 
from  Melismata,  Musicall  Phansles,  London,  1611 ;  the 
second  (Child,  T,  253)  from  Scott's  Minstrelsy,  where  it 
was  first  printed.  It  is  interesting  to  read  the  two  ballads 
together,  and  a  comparison  is  sure  to  rouse  new  admiration 
for  the  less  known  but  more  deserving  The  Three  Ravens. 
Some  critics  consider  The  Twa  Corbies  a  traditional  form 
of  The  Three  Ravens.  Scott,  however,  calls  it  "  a  counter- 
part rather  than  a  copy"  ;  Child  says  it  sounds  like  a  "cyni- 
cal variation  of  the  tender  little  English  ballad  "  ;  Gummere 
{Old  English  Ballads,  336)  mentions  it  as  a  possible  par- 
ody, and  {The  Popidar  Ballad,  197)  as  a  "  cynical  pend- 
ant." The  Twa  Corbies  presents  one  of  the  typical  bad 
wives  of  the  ballad,  which  we  see  at  their  worst  in  The 
Baron  of  Brackley  (Child,  IV,  84)  ;  while  The  Three 
Ravens  is  unequalled  in  tenderness  and  beauty  as  a  song  of 
ballad  true  love  at  its  best. 

SIR  PATRICK  SPENCE 

The  text  is  that  printed  by  Child  (II,  17)  from  Percy's 
Reliques.  There  are  eighteen  versions  of  the  ballad  (some 


134  NOTES 

of  them  fragments),  which  is  known  by  such  other  titles 
as  Sir  Andro  Wood,  Skipper  Patrick,  Earl  Patricke 
Spjensse,  Earl  Patrick  Graham.  Sir  Patrick  Spence  was 
first  given  to  the  world  through  Percy's  Reliques,  1765,  and 
this  version,  although  one  of  the  shortest,  is  poetically  more 
perfect  and  impressive  than  the  longer  versions  full  of  de- 
tail and  circumstance.  The  ballad  has  a  convincing  note  of 
historical  reality,  and  it  bears  out  fairly  well  the  story  of 
the  marriage  of  Margaret,  daughter  of  Alexander  III,  who 
was  married  to  Eric,  King  of  Norway,  in  1821,  and  con- 
ducted thither  to  her  husband  by  a  retinue  of  knights  and 
nobles,  all  of  whom  jierished  on  the  voyage  home.  Child, 
however,  does  not  feel  compelled  to  regard  the  ballad  as  his- 
torical, and  points  out  (II,  19)  that  a  strict  accordance  with 
fact  would  be  almost  a  ground  of  suspicion,  since  "  ballad 
singers  and  their  hearers  would  be  as  indifferent  to  the 
facts  as  readers  of  ballads  are  now."  Cf.  alsoT.  F.Hender- 
son on  the  ballad  in  his  History  of  Scottish  Vernacidar 
Literature.  Writing  of  the  objective  note  in  ballads.  Gum- 
mere  (The  Popidar  Ballad,  333)  says,  "Eleven  stanzas  .  .  . 
tell  without  a  trope,  without  conscious  turn  of  phrase,  without 
a  suggestion  of  the  wider  world  or  of  times  past  and  to  come, 
but  in  their  own  conventional  leap-and-linger  style,  the  story 
of  '  Sir  Patrick  Spens,'  the  tragedy  of  his  summons,  his  jour- 
ney and  his  end.  This  traditional  bit  of  verse,  smooth  as  it  has 
grown,  holds  to  the  cumulative  and  undetached  habit  of  genu- 
ine ballad  style.  From  first  to  last  it  is  at  the  heart  of  the 
action  and  never  attempts  to  viewthat  action,  whether  by  stuff 
or  by  23hrase,by  figure  or  by  comment,  from  without.  It  moves 
in  a  straight,  if  redoubled,  line  to  the  end,  —  the  Scots  lords 
lying  at  Sir  Patrick's  feet,  half  over  to  Aberdour,  fifty 
fathoms  under  sea."  See,  also,  Introduction,  pp.  xxvi-xxvii. 

1.  Dumferling :  Scott  states  that  this  town,  about  fifteen 
miles  from  Edinburgh,  was  a  favorite  residence  of  Alexander 
III,  who  is  buried  in  the  abbey  there. 

3.  braid  letter  :  this  may  mean  an  open  letter,  or  as  Child 
points  out  from  an  analogous  use  of    the  Avord  in  other 


NOTES  135 

ballads,  a  letter  so  large  that  it  needed  to  be  folded  flat  and 
sealed. 

3.  Was  walking,  etc  :  a  traditional  ballad  way  of  omit- 
ting the  relative. 

5.  0  wlia  is  this,  etc.  :  in  other  versions  Sir  Patrick 
speaks  with  more  feeling  ;  as  in  that  of  Herd's  MSS.  :  — 

"  0  wha  is  this  has  tald  the  king, 
Has  tald  the  king  o  nie  ? 
Gif  I  but  wist  the  man  it.  war, 
Hanged  should  he  he." 

But  in  all  versions,  like  the  hero  lie  is,  he  obeys  orders 
unquestioningly. 

5.  time  o'  the  yeir :  the  ballad  takes  nature  for  granted, 
even  when  the  terrors  of  the  stormy  season  are  a  vital  matter. 
In  Motherwell's  MS.  (Child,  II,  23)  one  may  read  all  the 
details  of  the  "  cauld  and  watry  wind,"  the  "  grumly  sea," 
and  the  salt  waves  "  in  at  our  coat-neck  and  out  at  our  left 
arm  "  ;  and,  reading,  be  convinced  that  they  are  but  the  arti- 
ficial touches  of  conscious  composition. 

7.  Late  late  yestreen,  etc.  :  a  touch  of  folk-lore  here,  as 
also  in  a  stanza  of  warning  found  in  the  Harris  MS.  :  — 

Then  up  it  raise  the  mermaiden, 

Wi  the  comb  an  glass  in  her  hand : 
Here  's  a  health  to  yon,  my  merrie  young  men, 

For  you  never  will  see  dry  land." 

8.  they  swam  aboone  :  the  hats  were  floating  about  them 
in  the  sea. 

9.  0  lang,  lang,  etc. :  repetition  throughout  this  ballad  is 
so  pervasive  as  not  to  escape  one's  interest.  Concerning  these 
two  stanzas,  Child  writes  :  "  It  would  be  hard  to  point  out  in 
ballad  poetry,  or  other,  happier  and  more  refined  touches 
than  the  two  stanzas  .  .  .  which  portray  the  bootless  waiting 
of  the  ladies  for  the  return  of  the  seafarers." 

11.  half  owre  to  Aberdour  :  half  way  between  Aberdour 
and  the  coast  of  Norway  lies  an  island,  Papa  Stronsay, 
where  is  said  to  lie  the  grave  of  Sir  Patrick  Spence  ;  but,  of 
course,  the  tradition  is   questionable.  There  is  no  question, 


136  NOTES 

however,  as  to  the  ballad-like  simplicity  and  the  beauty  of 
the  thought,  "half  way  home."  One  version  (Harris  MS.) 
reports  bits  of  wreckage  floating  home  as  evidence  of  the 
disaster :  — 

There  was  Saturday,  an  Sabbath  day, 

An  Monnonday  at  raorn, 
Tliat  feather-beds  an  silken  sheets 

Cam  floatin  to  Kinghorn. 

Sir  Patrick  Spe'iice  is  a  convincing  illustration  of  Gum- 
mere's  statement  that  "  Primitive  ballads,  however  inade- 
quate they  would  seem  for  our  needs,  came  from  men  who 
knew  life  at  its  hardest,  faced  it,  accepted  it,  well  aware  that 
a  losing  fight  is  at  the  end  of  every  march." 

THOMAS  RYMER   AND  THE   QUEEN  OF  ELFLAND 

The  text  is  that  printed  by  Child  (I,  323)  from  Alexander 
Fraser  Tytler's  Brown  MS.  There  are  five  versions,  with 
one  other  title,  Thomas  the  Rhymer.  There  is  good  evi- 
dence that  Thomas  the  Rhymer  w^as  an  actual  person, 
Thomas  of  Erceldoune,  living  not  far  from  Melrose  in  the 
thirteenth  century,  and  venerated  as  a  prophet  and  poet.  It 
is  said  that  even  in  the  last  century  the  rustic  peojjle  in  Scot- 
land preserved  his  sayings  in  the  belief  that  they  were  in- 
spired by  the  fairies,  with  whom  he  had  lived  a  few  years 
as  a  child.  A  fragmentary  poem,  Thomas  of  Erceldome, 
written  down  probably  in  the  fifteenth  century,  tells  how 
Thomas  acquired  his  gift  from  the  fairies.  This,  in  turn, 
refers  to  an  older  story  of  Thomas  and  the  Elf  Queen,  which 
is  but  another  version  of  the  romance  of  Ogier  the  Dane  and 
Morgan  the  Fay.  In  this  romance  the  ballad  doubtless  had 
its  source ;  it  agrees  with  it  in  all  essential  points,  and  curi- 
ously enough  in  the  particular  of  Thomas's  taking  the  fairy 
to  be  the  Virgin.  By  some  authorities  this  is  considered  the 
oldest  authenticated  specimen  of  the  romantic  ballad. 

1.  grassy  bank :  the  Huntly  Banks  near  Erceldoun.  On 
their  eastern  slope  a  large  stone  marks  the  site  of  the  Eildon 


NOTES  137 

tree  where  Thomas  kissed  the  fairy.  "  The  Eildon  Tree  .  .  . 
no  longer  exists ;  but  the  spot  is  marked  by  a  large  stone 
called  Eildon  Tree  Stone."  —  Scott. 

2.  Hung  fifty  silver  bells,  etc. :  jingling  bells  were  often 
ascribed  to  fairies,  as  in  Tavi  Lin  (Child,  I,  340),  stanza 

37:  — 

About  the  middle  o  the  night 

She  heard  the  bridles  ring- ; 
This  lady  was  as  glad  at  that 

As  any  earthly  thing. 

Cf.  also  Lord  Thomas  and  Fair  Aumet,  stanza  17. 

4.  After  stanza  4  the  story  is  made  more  comjjlete  by 
reading  in  these  two  stanzas  from  the  version  in  Scott's  Min- 
strelsi/ :  — 

"  Harp  and  carp,  Thomas,"  she  said, 
"  Harp  and  carp  along  wi'  me  : 
And  if  ye  dare  to  kiss  my  lips, 
Sure  of  your  body  I  will  be." 

"  Betide  me  weal,  betide  me  woe, 

That  weird  shall  never  danton  me." 
Syne  he  has  kissed  her  rosy  lips, 
AH  underneath  the  Eildon  Tree. 

To  kiss  a  fairy  or  a  ghost  always  puts  the  mortals  of  the 
ballads  into  the  power  of  the  spirits  of  darkness.  Child  says  : 
"  In  this  matter  there  is  pretty  much  one  rule  for  all '  unco ' 
folk,  be  they  fairies,  dwarfs, water  sprites,  devils,  or  departed 
spirits,  and,  in  a  limited  way,  for  witches  too.  Thomas,  hav- 
ing kissed  the  elf  queen's  lips,  must  go  with  her."  Cf.  Sweet 
William's  Ghost,  stanza  4. 

7.  For  forty  days,  etc. :  Gummere  says  {The  Popular 
Ballad,  329):  "The  scant  notes  of  true  Thomas's  journey 
tiirough  tlie  otlier  world  are  disappointing."  But  it  would  be 
hard  to  match  for  suggestiveness  this  stanza  with  any  other 
in  the  ballads,  which  usually  dismiss  nature  with  a  word. 

9.  0  no,  0  no,  True  Thomas,  etc. :  he  who  eats  of  the 
food  of  faiiyland  will  never  live  to  return  to  earth.  So  tlie 
queen  has  brought  with  her  a  loaf  and  a  bottle  of  wine,  for 
after  serving  her  seven  years  Thomas  must  go  back  as  pro- 
phet to  his  people. 


138  NOTES 

13.  Ullie  leven  :  a  reminder  of  Shakespeare's  "  primrose 
way  to  the  everlasting  bonfire."   Cf.  Macbeth,  II,  iii. 

16.  True  Thomas  on  earth  teas  never  seen:  "  Popular  tra- 
dition, as  Sir  Walter  Scott  represents,  held  that,  though 
Thomas  was  allowed  to  revisit  the  earth  after  a  seven-years' 
sojourn  in  fairyland,  he  was  under  obligation  to  go  back  to 
the  elf  queen  whenever  she  should  summon  him.  One  day 
while  he  '  was  making  merry  with  his  friends  in  the  town  of 
Erceldoune,  a  person  came  running  in,  and  told,  with  marks 
of  fear  and  astonishment,  that  a  hart  and  hind  had  left  the 
neighboring  forest,  and  were  composedly  and  slowly  parad- 
ing the  street  of  the  village.  The  prophet  instantly  arose, 
left  his  habitation,  and  followed  the  wonderful  animals  to 
the  forest,  whence  he  was  never  seen  to  return.'  He  is,  how- 
ever, expected  to  come  back  again  at  some  future  time." 
^  Child. 

THE  WEE  WEE  MAN 

The  text  is  that  printed  by  Child  (I,  330)  from  Herd's 
Ancient  and  Modern  Scottish  Songs.  There  are  seven 
versions,  the  only  varying  title  being  The  Little  3Tan. 
"  Singularly  enough,  there  is  a  poem  in  eight-line  stanzas 
(cf.  Child,  I,  333)  in  a  fourteenth  century  manuscript, 
which  stands  in  somewhat  the  same  relation  to  this  ballad 
as  the  poem  of  Thomas  of  Erceldoune  does  to  the  ballad 
of  Thomas  Rijvier,  but  with  the  important  difference  that 
there  is  no  reason  for  deriving  the  ballad  from  the  poem  in 
this  instance.  There  seems  to  have  been  an  intention  to 
make  it,  like  Thomas  of  Erceldoune,  an  introduction  to  a 
string  of  prophecies  which  follows,  but  no  junction  has  been 
effected." — Child.  Among  ballads  dealing  with  magic 
transformations  and  vanishings,  Gummere  speaks  of  TJie 
Wee  Wee  Man  as  a  "charming  study  in  miniature." 

1.  As  I  was  walking  all  alone :  cf.  with  the  first  line  of 
The  Tica  Corbies. 

2.  shathmont :  six  inches,  or  the  measure  from  the  top  of 
the  thumb  extended  to  tlie  opposite  extremity  of  the  palm. 


NOTES  139 

2.  spa7i :  one  version  makes  the  hero  still  smaller :  — 

Atween  his  shoulders  was  ae  span, 
About  his  middle  war  but  three, 

and  another  measurement  was :  — 

Atween  his  een  a  flea  might  gae. 

3.  a  vielkle  stane:  "sax  feet  in  hight,"  one  of  the  ver- 
sions has  it. 

8.  Jfy  ivee  ivee  man  was  clean  axva :  in  other  versions  it 
is  not  the  wee,  wee  man  who  vanishes  alone,  but  the  whole 
hall  with  the  ladies  ;  in  two,  the  ballad  ends  with  the  ladies' 
sino-ing,  "Our  wee,  wee  man  has  been  long  awa"  ;  and  one 
ends  in  still  more  conventional  fairy  style,  with  a  beautiful 
weird  touch  at  the  end. 

Pipers  were  playing,  ladies  dancing', 
The  ladies  dancing,  jimp  and  sma  ; 
At  ilka  turning  o  the  spring 

The  little  mon  was  wearin  's  wa.       {growing  less  and  less) 

Out  gat  the  lights,  on  cam  the  mist, 

Ladies  nor  mannie  mair  coud  see. 
I  turned  about,  and  gae  a  look, 

Just  at  the  foot  o'  Benachie. 

SWEET  WILLIAM'S  GHOST 

The  text  is  that  printed  by  Child  (II,  230)  from  Herd's 
MSS.,  in  which  it  is  a  continuation  of  Clerk  Saunders,  q.  v. 
(Cliild,  II,  158).  There  are  seven  versions  of  this  ballad, 
which  is  also  known  as  Marjorie  and  William  and  Sweet 
William  and  May  Margaret.  The  story  has  many  counter- 
parts among  Scandinavian  ballads  in  which,  however,  the 
lover  returns  for  the  definite  purpose  of  chiding  his  betrothed 
for  her  grieving,  which  disturbs  his  repose.  Cf.  note  on  The 
Wife  of  Usher's  Well;  and  The  Unquiet  Grave  (Child,  TI, 
236).  The  tale  in  its  main  outlines  can  be  recognized  in 
almost  all  European  literatures,  often  in  ballad  farm.  It  is 
the  basis,  for  example,  of  Burger's  Lenore.  Often  the  lovei- 
comes  for  the  maiden  hersdf,  as  in  the  "blurred,  enfeebled, 


140  NOTES 

and  disfigured  "  Suffolk  JfiVac^e  (Child,  V,  58),  rather  than, 
as  here,  to  claim  simply  her  troth. 

I.  A  xoat :  I  wot;  cf.  note  on  I  tvot,  in  Young  Bicha'in. 
3.   Till  ye  come  with  me,  etc. :  she  does  not  understand 

yet  that  her  lover  is  dead. 

5.  a  merry  midd-larf:  of  douhtful  meaning.  Scott 
frankly  changed  it  to  "  merry  midnight."  Kittredge,  com- 
paring it  with  "  0  the  young  cock  crew  i  the  merry 
Linken"  in  one  version  of  The  Wife  of  Usher's  Well, 
thinks  that  "  midd-larf  "  may  stand  for  some  locality. 

6.  Till  ye  tell  me,  etc.  :  in  two  other  versions  (Kinloch, 
and  Ramsay)  she  makes  the  condition  ;  — 

Till  ye  tell  me  the  pleasures  o  heaven, 
And  the  pains  of  hell  how  they  be, 

or  more  simply  :  — 

Till  you  take  me  to  yon  kirk, 
And  wed  me  with  a  ring. 

9.  straked  her  troth :  a  hit  of  surviving  folk-lore.  It  is 
probably  akin  to  the  old  practice  of  getting  rid  of  a  disease 
by  rubbing  the  sick  part  \x])o\\  a  tree  or  stick.  Cf .  The  Broivn 
Gf^r^  (Child,  V,  167):  — 

When  she  came  to  her  love's  bed-side, 

Where  he  lay  dangerous  sick, 
She  could  not  for  laughing  stand 

Upright  upon  her  feet. 

She  had  a  white  wand  in  her  hand, 
And  smoothed  it  all  on  his  breast ; 
"  In  faith  and  troth  come  pardon  me, 
I  hope  your  soul  "s  at  rest." 

In  other  versions  Margret  simply  stretches  out  "  her  lilly- 
white  hand  "  and  gives  back  her  troth.  One  varies  it  by 

Then  she  has  taen  a  silver  key, 

Gien  him  three  times  on  the  breast ; 

Says,  There  's  your  faith  and  troth,  Willie, 
I  hope  your  soul  will  rest. 

II.  lost  the  sight  of  him:  as  he  sinks  into  his  grave. 


NOTES  141 

The  version  In  Jamiesou's    Popular   Ballads  has  a  good 
touch  here :  — 

0,  bonny,  bonny  sang'  the  bird, 

Sat  on  the  coil  o  hay ; 
But  dowie,  dowie  was  the  maid 

That  followd  the  corpse  o  clay. 

13.   There  is  room.,  etc. :  in  five  of  the  seven  versions  this 
is  denied  —  "  there  is  na  room." 


THE  WIFE  OF  USHER'S  WELL 

The  text  is  that  printed  by  Child  (II,  238)  from  Scott's 
Minstrelsy  of  the  Scottish  Border,  1802,  as  taken  down 
from  the  recitation  of  an  old  woman  residing  near  Kirkliill, 
in  West  Lothian.  There  are  four  versions,  and  the  ballad  is 
otherwise  known  as  The  W idow- Woman.  In  many  ballads, 
particularly  in  The  Unquiet  Grave  (Child,  II,  234),  we  find 
voiced  the  jiopular  belief  that  excessive  mourning  for  the 
dead  interfered  with  their  rest.  Thus  a  brother  reappeared 
to  his  grieving  sister  and  says,  "  Every  tear  that  thou  shed- 
dest  falls  on  this  dark  shroud  without  drying,  and  every 
night  they  still  more  chill  and  encumber  me";  and  a  little 
child  begs  his  mother  to  stop  weeping,  for,  since  he  must 
carry  all  her  tears  in  a  large  pitcher,  his  burden  is  so  great 
that  he  cannot  play  with  his  comrades  in  Heaven.  Possibly 
this  is  the  motive  of  the  sons  in  coming  back  to  their  mo- 
ther, —  at  least  it  is  the  only  one  that  we  can  conjecture. 
But,  as  Child  says,  "  suj)plying  a  motive  would  add  nothing 
to  the  impressiveness  of  these  verses.  Nothing  that  we  have 
is  more  profoundly  affecting."  It  is  useless  to  try  to  define 
the  charm  of  this  ballad  ;  perhaps  it  lies  not  only  in  the  appeal 
of  the  material,  but  largely  in  the  restraint  of  its  exin-essioii, 
the  words  suggesting  far  more  than  they  actually  tell. 
Especially  is  this  true  of  the  last  stanza.  Gummere  says 
{The  Popular  Ballad,  p.  222)  that  "  traditional  verse  of 
any  land  seldom  rises  to  the  height  of  our  best  '  supernatu- 
ral '  ballad,  '  The  Wife  of  Usher's  Well.'  " 


142  NOTES 

2.  They  hadna  been  a  week,  etc. :  the  incremental  repe- 
tition here,  in  so  short  a  compass,  gives  an  unusually  strong 
effect. 

4.  /  iinsh,  etc.  :  the  evil  wish  is  a  stock  incident  in  bal- 
lads, varying  from  the  simple  •'  and  an  ill  death  may  he  die" 
(Johnie  Cock,  stanza  10)  to  the  elaborate  recital  of  curses  to 
be  found  at  the  end  of  Edward  and  The  Cruel  Brother. 
None  of  them  is  more  solemn,  however,  than  the  impreca- 
tion here  that  storms  '"  may  never  cease." 

5.  3Iai'tinmass :  the  11th  of  November. 

9.  crew  the  red,  red  cock,  etc. :  this  touch  is  reminiscent 
of  Scandinavian  mythology  ;  the  crowing  of  the  cock  is 
often  a  warning  from  the  other  world.  Cf.  Sweet  William^s 
Ghost,  stanza  5.  Cf.  also  its  use  in  Matthew  xxvi,  74. 

11.  The  channerin  worm  doth  chide:  an  alliteration  that 
compares  in  unusualness  with  that  in  Lord  Thomas  and 
Fair  Annet,  stanza  8,  line  4. 

KEMP  OWYNE 

The  text  is  that  printed  by  Child  (I,  309)  from  Buchan's 
Ballads  of  the  North  of  Scotland.  The  same  version  is  in 
Motherwell's  Minstrelsy.  There  are  three  versions  of  the 
ballad,  in  one  of  which  the  title  is  varied  to  Kempion.  Kemp 
Owyne  is  Owain,  one  of  King  Arthur's  knights,  whose  his- 
tory may  be  read  in  Malory's  Morte  D' Arthur.  The  adven- 
ture here  described,  however,  does  not  appear  in  Malory, 
but  Professor  Child  says,  "  It  is  not  perhaps  material  to 
explain  how  Owain,  the  king's  son  Urien,  happens  to  be 
awarded  the  adventure  which  here  follows.  It  is  enough 
that  his  right  is  as  good  as  that  of  other  knights  to  whom 
the  same  achievement  has  been  assigned.  .  .  .  Owain's 
slaying  the  fire-drake  who  was  getting  the  better  of  the  lion 
may  have  led  to  his  name  becoming  associated  with  the  still 
more  gallant  exploit  of  thrice  kissing  a  fiie-drake  to  effect  a 
disenchantment."  The  closest  parallel  to  the  story  of  the 
ballad  is  to  be  found  in  an  Icelandic  saga,  in  which  a  young 


NOTES  143 

gill  is  transformed  by  her  stepmother  into  a  monster  with 
the  mane,  tail,  and  hoofs  of  a  horse,  and  is  to  be  released 
only  by  the  kiss  of  a  king's  son.  His  ordeal  is  shorter  than 
Owain's,  for  he  needs  only  to  leap  upon  her  neck,  kiss  her 
once,  and  catch  the  sword  she  promises  to  throw  up  to  him. 
This  undoes  the  spell,  and  the  two  are  married  at  court. 
Disenchantment  by  a  kiss  is  common  in  old  tales  ;  the  tripli- 
cation of  the  kiss  here  admits  the  increment  and  so  makes 
good  ballad  material.  See  introduction,  p.  xxi.  One  feels, 
however,  that,  according  to  ballad  ways,  each  of  the  talis- 
mans —  the  belt,  the  ring,  and  the  brand  —  should  have  its 
own  peculiar  power  instead  of  the  general  "drawn  shall 
your  blood  never  be."  The  kindred  ballads,  Allison  Gross 
and  The  Laihj  Worm  and  the  Machrel  of  the  Sea  should 
be  read  with  this  (Child,  I,  313,  315). 

2.  Craigy's  sea  :  probably  a  slurring  of  "  craig  of  the 
sea  "  ;  Eastmuir  craigs,  Scott's  version  has  it. 

7.  Here  is  a  royal  belt,  etc. :  the  stanza  arrangement 
from  this  point  to  the  end  of  the  ballad  is  unusually  inter- 
esting, making  in  stanzas  8  and  10  a  refrain  of  stanza  6 
entire,  and  in  stanzas  9  and  11  a  perfect  repetition  of 
stanza  7,  changing  only  the  talisman,  —  incremental  repeti- 
tion in  its  simplest  form.  With  a  structure  like  this  before 
us  we  can  clearly  see  how  a  ballad  grew ;  and  nothing  could 
be  easier  to  remember  —  or  harder  to  forget  —  than  these 
singing  lines.    See  Introduction,  p.  xxii. 

THE  D^MON  LO\^R 

The  text  is  that  printed  by  Child  (IV,  367)  from  Scott's 
Minstrelsy  of  the  Scottish  Border,  1812.  There  are  eight 
versions  of  this  ballad,  otherwise  known  as  A  Warning  for 
Married  Women,  The  Distressed  Ship-Carpenter,  James 
Herris,  The  Carj^enter's  Wife,  The  Banlcs  of  Italy.  The 
complete  title  of  the  first,  the  best  preserved  traditional  ver- 
sion, sums  up  the  whole  story  :  "  A  Warning  for  Mairied 
Women,  being  an  example  of  Mrs.  Jane  Reynolds  (a  West- 


144  NOTES 

country  woman),  born  near  Plymouth,  who,  having  plighted 
her  troth  to  a  Seaman,  was  afterwards  married  to  a  Car- 
penter, and  at  last  carried  away  by  a  Spirit,  the  manner 
how  shall  be  presently  recited."  From  this  older,  homelier 
version,  Scott's,  as  here  given,  has  been  "  improved  into 
some  elegance  "  (Gummere's  Popular  Ballad,  215).  The 
title  Dcetnon  Lover  allows  the  hero  all  the  scope  he  needs  to 
play  his  magic  part  in  the  magic  story  ;  he  may  be  first  the 
mourning  lover  and  then  the  cloven-footed  Spirit  of  Ven- 
geance ;  he  may  make  his  silken-sailed  and  golden-masted 
ships,  manned  by  invisible  mariners,  sail  serenely  to  music 
or  sink  into  the  sea  at  his  stroke  upon  topmast  and  fore- 
mast ;  and  he  may  know  all  about  the  hills  of  heaven  and 
the  mountains  of  hell.  Granted  the  tables  turned,  the  woman 
instead  of  the  man  led  away  under  a  spell,  there  is  much 
here  to  remind  us  of  Thomas  Ryvier,  especially  stanzas  12, 
13,  and  14,  which  in  subject-matter  parallel  13  and  14  here. 
12.  On  the  hanks  of  Italy :  in  another  version  (Kinloch 
MSS.)  a  bit  of  incremental  repetition  leads  up  to  the  final 
catastrophe :  — 

She  had  na  sailed  a  league,  a  league, 

A  league  but  barely  three, 
Till  grim,  grim  grew  his  countenance. 

And  gurly  grew  the  sea. 

"  O  baud  your  tongue,  my  dearest  dear, 
Let  all  your  follies  abee  ; 
I  "11  show  you  whare  the  white  lillies  grow, 
In  the  bottom  of  the  sea." 

15.  He  strack  the  top-mast  wi  his   hand :   in  Mother- 
well's MS.  version  the  last  stanza  reads. 

He  took  her  up  to  the  topmast  high. 

To  see  what  she  could  see  ; 
He  sunk  the  ship  in  a  flash  of  fire, 

To  the  bottom  of  the  sea. 

And  another  ending,  in  a  fragment  in  Motherwell's  Min- 
strelsy, has  a  magic  vanishing  at  the  end  that  reminds  us  of 
the  close  of  The  Wee  Wee  Man :  — 


NOTES  145 

They  had  not  sailed  a  mile  awa, 

Never  a  mile  but  four, 
When  the  little  wee  ship  ran  round  about, 

And  never  was  seen  more. 


HUGH  OF  LINCOLN 

The  text  is  that  printed  by  Child  (III,  243)  from  Jamieson's 
Popular  Ballads.  There  are  twenty-one  versions,  all  known 
as  above,  as  Sir  Hugh,  or  as  The  Jew's  Daughter,  with  the 
exception  of  one  copy  obtained  in  New  York  (Newell's 
Games  and  Songs  of  American  Children),  where  the 
boy's  name  has  become  Harry  Hughes  and  the  Jew's 
daughter  is  the  Duke's  daughter.  The  story  of  Hugh  of 
Lincoln  is  told  in  the  Annals  of  Waverley,  1255,  by  a 
contemporary  writer ;  and  it  was  repeated  and  enlarged 
upon  by  Matthew  Paris,  also  writing  contemporaneously. 
Briefly  it  is  as  follows  :  The  Jews  of  Lincoln  crucified  there 
a  boy  named  Hugh.  The  body  when  taken  from  the  cross 
was  thrown  into  the  I'iver  to  escape  detection,  but  the  right- 
eous water  cast  it  up  upon  dry  land.  Earth  also  refused 
to  cover  it  when  it  was  buried,  and  finally  it  was  thrown 
into  a  well.  From  thence  it  gave  forth  so  beautiful  a  light 
and  fragrance  that  the  well  attracted  crowds,  and  those  who 
looked  in  saw  the  body  floating  there,  its  hands  and  feet 
pierced  and  its  head  circled  by  a  crown  of  thorns.  From 
these  mai'ks  the  murder  was  clearly  the  work  of  the  Jews. 
Miracles  were  performed  for  those  who  touched  the  holy 
body.  The  part  played  by  the  mother  in  the  ballad  is  care- 
fully told  by  Paris.  The  reliability  of  these  chronicles  can- 
not be  vouched  for.  Very  likely  the  whole  story  was  one  of 
those  fabrications  used  by  the  Christians  in  the  Middle  Ages 
to  justify  their  persecutions  of  a  much-wronged  race.  Child 
says  (IV,  240)  :  "  Of  these  charges  in  the  mass  it  may 
safely  be  said  .  .  .  that  they  are  as  credible  as  the  miracles 
.  .  .  asserted  to  have  been  worked  by  the  reliques  of  the 
young  saint,  and  as  well  substantiated  as  the  absurd  sacri- 
lege of  stabbing,  baking,  or  boiling  the  Host  .  .  .  with  which 


146  NOTES 

the  Jews  have  equally  been  taxed."  The  ballad  should  be 
compared  with  Chaucer's  Prioress's  Tale ;  nothing  could 
show  more  clearly,  as  Professor  Gummere  points  out  ( The 
Pojyular  Ballad,  229),  the  difference  between  "  artless  and 
artistic  narrative." 

1.  came  him:  an  old  subject-dative,  sometimes  used  with 
verbs  of  motion. 

5.  For  as  ye  did  to  my  auld  father  :  his  reason  in  other 
versions  is  more  boyish,  such  as,  — 

"  I  canna  ciini,  I  darna  cum, 
Without  my  play-feres  twa." 

7.  She 's  led  him  in  tJtrough  ae  dark  door,  etc.  :  this 
stanza  and  the  next  are  a  splendid  example  of  incremental 
repetition  reduced  from  stanzas  to  lines. 

8.  And  first  came  out  the  thick,  thick  blood :  cf.  a 
stanza,  describing  the  bleeding  of  Robin,  In  an  older  version 
of  Rohin  Hood' s  Death  than  that  printed  in  this  volume  :  — 

And  first  it  bled  the  thieke,  thicke  bloode, 

And  afterwards  the  thinne, 
And  well  then  wist  good  Robin  Hoode 

Treason  there  was  within. 

9.  Cake :  case. 

9.  Our  Lady's  dratv-tvell :  this  may  be  a  confusion  of 
the  stoiy  of  Hugh  with  that  of  the  little  Christian  in 
Chaucer's  tale,  where  the  child  thrown  Into  a  pit  was  rescued 
by  the  Virgin,  for  all  other  versions  of  the  ballad  say  simply 
"the  Jew's  Well."  In  one  version  of  the  ballad  the  Jew's 
daughter  lays  a  Bible  at  the  boy's  head,  and  the  Prayer 
Book  at  his  feet  before  she  kills  him  ;  in  another  she  leaves 
the  Bible  and  Testament  there  after  his  death  ;  and  in  still 
another  she  placed 

The  Catechise-Book  in  his  own's  heart's  blood. 

In  other  versions  Hugh  himself  requests  these,  In  one 
asking  inconsiderately  for  a  "seven  foot  Bible,"  and  In  an- 
other specifying  from  the  bottom  of  the  well  that  he  shall 
have  "  pen  and  ink  at  every  side." 


NOTES  147 

12.  Gin  ye  be  there,  etc. :  the  pathetic  note  in  the  mother's 
rej^eated  cry  with  its  tinge  of  despair  at  the  end,  "  Wiiereer 
ye  be,"  may  also  have  crept  in  from  Tlie  Prioress's  Tale, 
so  similar  are  the  two. 

17.  And  a'  the  bells,  etc. :  this  is  the  only  version  that  pre- 
serves this  beautiful  touch. 


YOUNG  BICHAM 

The  text  is  that  printed  by  Child  (1,463)  from  the  Jamie- 
son-Brown  MS.  There  are  fifteen  versions  of  the  ballad, 
which  is  known  by  various  titles :  Young  Brechin,  Young 
Bekie,  Young  Beichan  and  Susie  Pye,  The  Loving  Ballad 
of  Lord  Bateman,  Young  Bondwell,  and  Susan  Py.  The 
story  of  the  ballad  agrees  in  many  respects  with  a  legend  of 
Gilbert  Becket,  father  of  the  martyr,  St.  Thomas.  In  his 
youth,  while  fighting  in  the  Holy  Land,  he  was  taken 
prisoner  by  a  Saracen  prince,  and  retained  to  wait  upon 
him  at  meat.  The  daughter  of  the  prince  fell  in  love  with 
him  during  these  days  of  his  servitude,  and  promised  to  re- 
nounce her  own  faith  and  turn  Christian  if  he  would  marry 
her.  In  time,  however,  Becket  escaped  and  made  his  way 
home.  The  princess  followed  him,  but  on  her  arrival  found 
that  the  only  English  word  she  knew  was  "  London." 
Wandering  through  the  streets  in  the  hope  of  finding  Becket, 
she  came  one  day  upon  his  house,  and  he  saw  and  recog- 
nized her.  In  his  perplexity  as  to  whether  he  should  marry 
one  of  heathen  religion  he  appealed  to  the  conference  of 
bishops  then  convened  at  St.  Paul's.  They  sanctioned  his 
wishes,  and  he  married  the  Saracen's  daughter.  The  ballad 
agrees  with  this  story  in  several  significant  particulars,  such 
as  the  formal  introduction  of  the  hero  (cf.  stanza  l),and  the 
reversal  of  the  conventional  j/lot  by  which  the  hero  returns 
home  and  forgets  his  foreign  love  instead  of  going  abroad 
and  forgetting  tlie  maiden  left  at  home.  There  is  a  ])oint 
also  in  the  similarity  between  the  names  Becket  and  Bekie. 
But  Child  is   careful    to  insist    that,    although    the    ballad 


148  NOTES 

is  unmistakably  ajfected  by  the  legend,  it  is  not  necessarily 
derived  from  it,  stories  with  this  general  outline  being  com- 
mon not  only  in  English,  but  in  Norse,  Spanish,  and  Italian. 
The  student  will  recognize  the  likeness  between  Young 
Bicham  and  Hind  Horn,  allowing  for  the  interchange  of 
the  principal  cliaracters. 

1.  In  London  city,  etc. :  the  ballad  opens  with  a  formal 
introduction  and  contains  throughout  bits  of  explanation 
that  are  wanting  in  the  '•  ballads  of  situation."  A  compari- 
son of  Babtjlon,  pure  situation,  Hind  Horn,  retaining  some 
of  the  explanatory  narrative  of  the  romance,  and  Young 
Bicham,  which  follows  closely  the  whole  romantic  story, 
will  show  how  the  romantic  ballad  tended  toward  the  char- 
acteristics of  epic  style. 

1.  handled  him  right  crnely  :  because  he  was  a  Christian. 
According  to  one  version  (Janiieson's  Popular  Ballads)  :  — 

For  he  viewed  the  fashions  of  that  land, 

Their  way  of  worship  viewed  he. 
But  to  Mahoimd  or  Termagant 

Would  Beichan  never  bend  a  knee. 

4.  /  wot :  the  unexpected  appearance  of  the  personal 
pronoun  does  not  at  all  disturb  the  impersonal  quality  which 
belongs  to  the  ballad.  Compared,  for  example,  with  the  vivid 
presence  of  the  "  I "  of  the  lyric  poem,  this  "  I "  really  has 
no  significance.  Nor  has  the  "  I "  in  The  Twa  Corbies, 
although  it  there  pretends  to  have  seen  and  heard  all  that 
is  related.  In  stanza  11,  here,  the  personal  element  is  more 
distinct,  perhaps,  in  "  I  hop  this  day  she  sal  be  his  bride  "  ; 
but  so  hopes  every  one  upon  reaching  this  point  in  the  story, 
and  so  the  singer  is  after  all  but  a  rejiresentative  voice. 

4.  Shusy  Pye :  this  is  usually  her  name,  but  she  is  also, 
in  three  other  versions,  Isbel,  Essek,  and  Sophia. 

9.  Go  set  your  foot,  etc  .  :  in  Jamieson's  Popidar  Ballads 
the  following  stanza  appears  at  this  point :  — 

She  's  broken  a  ring  from  her  fing-er, 
And  to  Beichan  half  of  it  gave  she  : 
"  Keep  it,  to  mind  you  of  that  love 
The  lady  bore  that  set  you  free," 


NOTES  149 

and  the  incident  closes  much  as  in  Hindhorn  with,  — 

And  she  has  taen  her  gay  gold  ring, 
That  with  lier  love  she  brake  so  free  ; 

Says,  Gie  him  that,  ye  proud  porter, 
And  bid  the  bridegroom  speak  to  me. 

An  important   incident,  wanting  in  this  version,  is  told  in 
Young  Bekie,  Jamieson's  fopular  Ballads,  as  follows :  — 

0  it  fell  once  upon  a  day 

Burd  Isbel  fell  asleep, 
An  up  it  starts  the  Belly  Blin, 

An  stood  at  her  bed-feet. 

"  O,  waken,  waken,  Burd  Isbel, 
How  [can]  you  sleep  so  soun. 
Whan  this  is  Bekie's  wedding  day, 
And  the  marriage  gain  on  ? 

"  Ye  do  ye  to  your  mither's  bower. 
Think  neither  sin  nor  shame  ; 
An  ye  tak  twa  o  your  mither's  marys, 
To  keep  ye  frae  thinking  lang. 

"  Ye  dress  yoursel  in  the  red  scarlet, 
An  your  marys  in  dainty  green. 
An  ye  put  girdles  about  your  middles 
Woud  buy  an  earldome. 

"  0  ye  gang  down  by  yon  sea-side. 
An  down  by  yon  sea-stran  ; 
Sae  bonny  will  the  Hollans  boats 
Come  rowin  till  your  ban. 

"  Ye  set  your  milk-white  foot  abord. 
Cry,  Hail  ye,  Domine  ! 
An  I  slial  be  the  steerer  o't 
To  row  you  oer  tlie  sea." 

Child  notes  (I,  67)  that  in  all  the  hallads  (five)  where  the* 
Belly  Blin  appears  he  is  "a  serviceahle  iiousehold  demon  ;  of 
a  decidedly  benignant  disposition  in  .  .  .  four,  and,  though 
a  loathly  fiend  with  seven  heads  in  [one],  very  obedient  and 
useful  when  once  thoroughly  suhdued."  Cf.  Gil  Brenton 
(Child  I,  73),  stanza  35,  and  Willie's  Lady  (Child,  I,  86), 
stanza  29. 


150  NOTES 

13.  0  has  he  taen  a  honiiy  bride,  etc. :  the  version  quoted 
above  claims  that  Bicham  was  still  faithful  to  his  love :  — 

He  had  nae  been  in  's  ain  country 

A  twelvemonth  till  an  end, 
Till  he  's-  forced  to  marry  a  dnke's  daughter, 

Or  than  lose  a'  his  land. 

"  Ohon,  alas  !  "  says  young  Beckie, 
"  I  know  not  what  to  dee  ; 
For  I  canno  win  to  Burd  Isbel, 
And  she  kensnae  to  come  to  me." 

16.  The  like  of  whom  I  did  never  see  :  the  bride  is  here 
silently  tolerant  of  the  porter's  uncomplimentary  comparison, 
but  in  the  version  already  quoted  she  is  ready  with  reproof :  — 

Then  out  it  spake  the  bierly  bride, 
Was  a'  goud  to  the  chin  ; 
"  Gin  she  be  braw  without,"  she  says, 
"  We  's  be  as  braw  within." 

19.  0  quickly  ran  he  down  the  stair :  his  haste  is  more 
headlong  in  another  version  (Pitcairn's  MSS.)  :  — 

It 's  he  's  taen  the  table  wi  his  fist, 

And  syne  he  took  it  wi  his  knee  ; 
He  gard  the  glasses  and  wine  so  red, 

He  gard  them  all  in  flinders  flee. 

23.  changd  her  name :  by  the  rite  of  Christian  baptism. 

GET  UP  AND  BAR   THE   DOOR 

The  text  is  that  printed  by  Child  (V,  98)  from  Herd's 
Ancient  and  Modern  Scots  Songs,  1769.  The  story  is  cited 
by  Professor  Child  as  one  of  a  group  of  tales,  French,  Italian, 
German,  Arabian,  Turkish,  all  of  which  turn  upon  a  penalty 
for  speaking  first,  agreed  upon  with  varying  circumstances 
between  husband  and  wife.  In  this  ballad,  the  compact  is  not 
a  serious  one  nor  one  that  involves  serious  consequences 
as  in  some  of  the  tales.  It  is  only  a  merry  matrimonial  jest, 
told  with  spirit  and  dash  ;  a  genuine  bit  of  healthy  fun  that 
sharply  distinguishes  this  from  some  coarser  stuff  in  the  small 


NOTES  151 

group  of  humorous  ballads  wliicli  we  have  to  draw  from. 
Professor  Child  prints  a  refrain  for  this  version,  given  by- 
Christie  as  *'  common  in  the  north  of  Scotland  from  time 
immemorial "  :  — 

And  the  barring;  o  our  door, 

Weel,  weel,  weel  ! 
And  the  barring  o  our  door,  weel ! 

1.  puddings :  white  puddings  are  made  chiefly  of  suet 
and  oatmeal ;  black  puddings  are  mixed  with  blood.  Both 
are  in  the  form  of  sausages. 


THE  BATTLE  OF  OTTERBURN 

The  text  is  that  printed  by  Child  (IV,  499)  from  Scotch 
Ballads,  Materials  for  Border  Minstrelsy  as  communicated 
to  Scott  by  James  Hogg.  (See  Introduction,  p.  xl.)  There 
are  seven  versions,  some  fragmentary,  of  this  ballad.  For  this 
version  Scott  says  he  obtained  two  copies  ''  from  the  recitation 
of  old  persons  residing  at  the  head  of  Ettrick  Forest,  by  which 
the  story  is  brought  out  and  completed  in  a  manner  much  more 
correspondent  to  the  true  history."  The  "  copies  "  were  really 
two  letters  from  James  Hogg  containing  twenty-nine  stanzas 
"collected  from  two  different  peoj)le,  a  crazy  old  man  and 
a  woman  deranged  in  her  mind,"  whose  memories  failed  at 
the  most  interesting  points  ;  and  a  collection  of  lines,  entire 
and  broken,  gotten  by  "  pumping  an  old  friend's  memory." 
Out  of  these  Hogg  made  eleven  stanzas  more,  which  are 
bracketed  in  tiie  text.  Lockhart  (under  July,  1831)  records 
Scott's  love  for  this  ballad  to  the  last  days  of  his  life  :  "  It 
was  again  a  darkish  cloudy  day,  with  some  occasional  nuit- 
terings  of  distant  thunder,  and  ])erhaps  the  state  of  the 
atmosphere  told  upon  Sir  Walter's  nerves  ;  but  I  had  never 
before  seen  him  so  sensitive  as  he  was  all  the  morning  after 
this  inspection  of  Douglas.  He  .  .  .  chanted,  rather  than 
repeated,  in  a  sort  of  deep  and  glowing,  though  not  distinct 
recitative,  his  first  favorite  among  all  the  ballads, — 


152  NOTES 

"  It  was  about  the  Lammas  tide, 

When  husbandmen  do  win  their  hay, 
That  the  doughty  Doug-las  bownde  him  to  ride 
To  England  to  drive  a  prey,  — 

down  to  the  closing  stanzas,  which  again  left  him  in  tears  — 

"  My  wound  is  deep  —  I  fain  would  sleep  — 
Take  thou  the  vanguard  of  the  three, 
And  hide  me  beneath  the  bracken-bush, 
That  grows  on  yonder  lily-lee." 

A  circumstantial  account  of  this  battle,  "  best  fought  and 
the  most  severe,"  is  given  by  Froissart,  who  learned  his 
details  first  hand  from  the  participants  upon  both  sides. 
Briefly  the  facts  are  these :  During  the  reign  of  Richard  II, 
the  Scots,  in  a  spirit  of  retaliation,  busied  themselves  with 
invading  and  ravaging  the  north  of  England.  One  division 
of  their  forces,  under  James,  Earl  of  Douglas,  in  1388  laid 
siege  for  three  days  to  the  walls  of  Newcastle.  Here  Douglas 
met  Harry  Percy,  "  Hotspur,"  in  a  single  combat  and  bore 
away  his  lance  and  pennon  with  the  taunt  that  he  would  raise 
the  flag  on  the  highest  point  of  his  castle  at  Dalkeith.  Percy 
vowed  that  it  should  never  be  carried  out  of  Northumber- 
land, and  the  Douglas's  reply  was,  "  Come  then  to-night  and 
win  it  back  ;  I  will  plant  it  before  my  tent."  Percy  mustered 
his  forces,  gave  chase  to  the  Scottish  army  when  they  broke 
camp  the  next  day,  and,  following  up  their  rear  closelv, 
made  a  night  attack  upon  them  encamped  at  Otterburn,  some 
twenty  miles  from  their  own  frontier.  The  battle  was  fought 
in  the  dark,  hand  to  hand,  and  stubboi-nly  on  both  sides. 
The  English  were  defeated  and  Percy  was  taken  prisoner. 
The  Scots  also  lost  their  leader,  for,  thirsting  for  glory, 
he  seized  a  battleaxe,  and  shouting,  "  Douglas  !  Douglas  !  " 
forced  his  way  into  the  heart  of  the  enemy's  ranks,  where 
he  was  felled  by  three  spear-strokes  at  once.  His  dying 
requests  were  :  "  First,  that  yee  keep  my  death  close  both 
from  our  owne  folke  and  from  the  enemy  ;  then,  that  ye  suffer 
not  my  standard  to  be  lost  or  cast  downe  ;  and  last,  that  ye 
avenge  my  death,  and  bury  me  at  Melrosse  with  my  father. 


NOTES  153 

If  I  could  hope  for  these  things,  I  should  die  with  the  great- 
est contentment ;  for  long  since  I  Iieaid  a  prophesie  that  a 
dead  man  should  winne  a  field,  and  I  hope  in  God  it  shall 
be  I."  And  the  stoiy  goes,  that  over  his  stone  tomb  at  Mel- 
rose was  finally  raised  the  Earl's  banner. 

Child  speaks  of  this  as  a  "  transcendently  heroic  ballad  "  ; 
and  Gummere  praises  Otterburn  and  the  Cheviot  as  rising 
from  "  the  arid  foothills  "  of  battle  ballads  like  "  peaks  of 
the  Sierras."  And  commenting  further  upon  its  heroic  spirit, 
the  latter  says  {The  Pojndar  Ballad,  258  fl^.)  :  "  The  chivalry 
lies  here  in  facts.  ...  It  is  the  chivalry  and  the  sentiment 
of  men-at-arms,  if  not  of  lofty  kniglithood  itself,  rather  than 
the  work  of  a  professional  song-writer  .  .  .  pouring  out  im- 
petuous scorn  upon  the  foe.  ...  It  is  the  spirit  characteristic 
of  fourteenth  century  Englishmen  at  their  best,  as  history 
records  it  in  Edward  III  with  his  sacred  word  of  honor  and 
his  generosity  to  the  captive,  as  Chaucer  embodies  it  in  his 
knight  and  his  squire,  and  as  Shakespeare,  with  amazing 
sympathy,  has  fixed  it  in  his  Hotspur,  the  Percy  of  these  bal- 
lads." As  to  the  origin  of  these  ballads  he  writes  {ibid.  265, 
266)  :  "  For  these  two  \_Otterbu)'n  and  the  Cheviot^  are 
chronicle  ballads,  —  with  emphasis  on  the  chronicle.  The 
fight  of  Otterburn  was  sui'ely  sung  on  both  sides  of  the 
border,  in  hall,  bower,  and  cottage,  by  the  roadside,  and  at 
the  dance ;  but  what  we  have  in  the  two  splendid  poems 
about  it  seems  to  come  to  us,  in  stuff  and  spirit,  from  men- 
at-arms,  —  who,  as  the  bishop  testifies,  could  make  and  sing 
their  ballads  readily  enough,  —  with  more  or  less  editing, 
recasting,  and  fresh  phrasing  by  minstrels  of  varying  de- 
gree. .  .  .  They  are  ballads  of  fight,  traditional  but  not  pop- 
ular in  the  noi'mal  sense  of  the  word.  There  is  nothing 
choral  or  concerted  or  dramatic  in  them ;  they  seem  to  have 
been  epic  from  the  start.  But  it  is  useless  to  si)eculate  on 
their  far-off  and  conjectural  making ;  they  are  made,  and, 
more  to  the  purpose,  have  been  kept ;  they  are  to  be  taken 
as  Drydeu  would  have  men  take  Chaucer,  and  one  is  glad 
enough  to  say  that  hero  is  God's  plenty." 


154  NOTES 

1.  When  the  mnir-'inen  won  their  hay:  again,  a  con- 
'Ventional  statement  of  the  season. 

1.  doughty  Earl  Douglas :  the  glory  of  this  house  began 
In  Scottish  histoiy  with  Sir  James  DougLas,  one  of  the  de- 
fenders of  Bruce  in  the  battle  of  Bannockburn.  This  ballad 
has  throughout  the  epic  way  of  naming  single  heroes  for 
special  praise. 

2.  Gordons,  Graemes,  Lindsays,  Jardines :  illustrious 
Scottish  families.  Evidently  one  of  those  petty  feuds  which 
were  always  breaking  up  the  Scottish  army  kept  the  Jar- 
dines  from  sharing  the  glory  of  those  who  rose  with  the 
Douglas. 

3.  Tine,  the  Tyne  River,  flowing  through  Northumber- 
land to  the  North  Sea. 

3.  Almonshire :  Hogg  wrote  to  Scott :  "  Almon  shire 
may  probably  be  a  corruption  of  Banbrugh  shire  [a  castle- 
town  overlooking  the  North  Sea],  but  as  both  my  relaters 
called  it  so,  I  thought  proper  to  preserve  it." 

4.  Newcastle  :  the  cajiital  of  Northumberland,  on  the 
Tyne  :  now  the  great  coal  port. 

5.  Lo7'd  Piercy  :  Harry  Hotspur,  the  son  of  the  Percy 
of  the  Cheviot.  This  distinguished  family  traced  its  honors 
back  to  the  day  of  William  de  Piercy,  companion  of  Wil- 
liam the  Conqueror. 

8.  But  0  howpale,  etc. :  this  stanza  Child  calls,  "spurious, 
modern  in  diction  and  in  conception." 

11.  Otterhurn:  a  brook  about  twenty-five  miles  distant; 
the  site  of  the  battle  is  now  marked  by  a  monument. 

20.  a  dreary  dream:  dreams  are  not  so  common  a 
means  of  warning  in  the  ballads  as  are  apparitions  and  nat- 
ural signs.  For  a  similar  incident,  cf.  Robin  Hood  and 
Guy  of  Gishorne,  stanzas  3  and  4.  This  is  perhaps  the  best 
known  stanza  of  the  whole  ballad. 

20.  Isle  0  Sky:  Skye  is  one  of  the  Inner  Hebrides  off 
the  west  coast  of  Scotland. 

22.  They  su-akked  their  swords,  etc. :  the  abundant  allit- 
eration in  this  ballad   and  in   the  Cheviot  is  one  of  the  evi- 


NOTES  155 

dences  that  they  did  not  spring  frona  "  simple  countryside 
memory." 

24.  My  ain  dear  sister's  son:  cf.  note  on  stanza  15, 
Johnie  Cock. 

23.  But  Piercy  wi  his  good  broadsword,  etc. :  Child 
thinks  this  stanza  must  be  derived  from  the  English  ver- 
sion, as  the  flight  of  Douglas  would  be  most  repulsive  to 
Scottish  national  feeling. 

37.  But  yield  thee  to  the  breaken  bush:  Child's  com- 
ment is :  "  The  summons  to  surrender  to  a  braken-bush  is 
not  in  the  style  of  fighting-men  or  fighting-days,  and  would 
justify  Hotspur's  contempt  of  metre-ballad-mongers."  See 
Introduction,  p.  xxxvii. 

38.  /  will  not  yield,  etc. :  Hogg  wrote  to  Scott,  after 
this  stanza :  "  Piercy  seems  to  have  been  fighting  devil- 
ishly in  the  dark ;  indeed,  my  relaters  added  no  more,  but 
told  me  that  Sir  Hugh  died  on  the  field,  but  that " —  as 
follows  in  stanza  40.  The  ending  of  Scott's  earlier  version 
was  (Child,  III,  301)  :  — 

As  soon  as  he  knew  it  was  Montg'omery, 
He  struck  his  sword's  point  in  the  gronde ; 

The  Montgomery  was  a  courteous  knight, 
And  quickly  took  him  by  the  honde. 

This  deed  was  done  at  the  Otterbourne, 

About  the  breaking  of  the  day  ; 
Earl  Douglas  was  buried  at  the  braken-bush, 

And  the  Percy  led  captive  away. 

CHEVY  CHASE 

The  text  is  that  printed  by  Child  (III,  311)  from  the 
Percy  MS.  There  are  two  versions  of  this  ballad,  the  older 
being  known  as  The  Hunting  of  the  Cheviot.  The  histori- 
cal value  of  the  story  it  tells  and  the  relation  it  bears  to  the 
incidents  told  in  The  Battle  of  Otterburn  are  subjects  of 
dispute.  Percy  says  very  truly,  "  The  only  battle,  wherein 
an  Earl  of  Douglas  was  slain  fighting  with  a  Percy,  was 


156  NOTES 

that  of  Otterbourne."  Hume  of  Godscroft,  as  early  as  1644 
(cf.  Child,  III,  303),  dischxims  all  historic  basis:  ''That 
which  is  commonly  sung  of  the  Hunting  of  Chiviot,  seemeth 
indeed  poeticall  and  a  meer  fiction,  perliajts  to  stirre  up 
vertue ;  yet  a  fiction  whereof  there  is  no  mention,  neither  in 
the  Scottish  nor  English  chronicle."  Hale  believes  that 
"the  ballad  on  the  Hunting  of  the  Cheviot, — borrowed 
largely  from  that  on  the  Buttle  of  Otterbourne,  —  was,  in 
fact,  in  course  of  time  believed  to  celebrate  the  same  event." 
Child's  (III,  304)  conclusion  is  :  "  The  differences  in  the 
story  of  the  two  ballads,  though  not  trivial,  are  still  not  so 
material  as  to  forbid  us  to  hold  that  both  may  be  founded 
upon  the  same  occurrence,  the  '  Hunting  of  the  Cheviot ' 
being  of  course  the  later  version,  and  following  in  part  its 
own  tradition,  though  repeating  some  portions  of  the  older 
ballad."  (His  further  comparison  of  the  two  may  be  read 
in  III,  304.  305.) 

But  whatever  their  relationship,  Hale's  comment  holds 
that  "  the  two  ballads  represent  two  different  features  of 
the  old  Border  life  —  the  Raid  and  the  defiant  Hunt."  The 
enormity  of  hunting  in  another's  territory  can  be  appreciated 
only  when  we  recall  the  strictness  of  the  laws  of  the  Marches, 
often  renewed  and  faithfully  enforced.  So  the  boastful  vow 
of  the  Earl  of  Northumberland  that  he  would  hunt  at  his 
pleasure  for  three  days  on  forbidden  ground  was  as  good  as 
a  direct  challenge. 

It  was  probably  this  ballad  in  an  older  version  that  called 
forth  the  praise  of  Sir  Philip  Sidney :  "  Certainly  I  must 
confesse  my  own  barbarousness.  I  never  heard  the  olde 
song  of  Percy  and  Duglas  that  I  found  not  my  heart 
mooved  more  then  with  a  trumpet ;  and  yet  it  is  sung  but 
by  some  blinde  crouder,  with  no  rougher  voyce  then  rude 
stile:  which,  being  so  evill  apparrelled  in  the  dust  and  cob- 
webbes  of  that  un^ ivill  age,  wliat  would  it  worke  trymmed 
in  the  gorgeous  eloquence  of  Pindar!"  With  this  version, 
also,  Percy  opened  his  Rellques  with  the  comment  that, 
"  those  genuine  strokes  of  nature  and  artless  passion,  which 


NOTES  157 

have  endeared  it  to  the  most  siinpla  readers,  have  recom- 
mended it  to  the  most  refined  ;  and  it  has  equally  been  the 
amusement  of  our  childhood,  and  the  favorite  of  our  riper 
years."  Of  our  later  version,  which  -was  probably  the  only 
one  known  to  him,  Addison  wrote  an  appreciation  in  The 
Spectator,  Nos.  70  and  74.  He  says,  "  The  old  song  of 
Chevy -Chase  is  the  favorite  ballad  of  the  common  people  of 
England,  and  Ben  Jonson  used  to  say  he  had  rather  have 
been  the  author  of  it  than  of  all  his  works." 

1.  God  prosper  long,  etc. :  this  direct  invocation  im- 
presses us  at  once  with  the  presence  of  the  singer  himself,  — 
not,  says  Child,  "  a  critical  historian,"  but  one  who  "  sup- 
poses liimself  to  be  dealing  with  facts  .  .  .  and  partial  to 
his  countrymen." 

2.  Cheuy  Chase :  Chyviot  in  the  older  version  changed 
easily  to  Cheuy  or  Chevy ;  just  as  in  stanza  14  Teviotdale 
became  Tivydale.  "  Hunting  ground  upon  the  Cheviot 
Hills  .  .  .  Chase  is  thus  shown  to  be  the  place  of  hunting, 
not  the  act." —  Skeat. 

5.  present :  immediate. 

14.  Tiuydale  .  .  .  Tweed :  the  Teviot  River  flows  into 
the  Tweed,  which  forms  a  boundary  between  Scotland  and 
England,  emptying  into  the  North  Sea. 

17.  milke-white  steede :  cf.  "  the  milk  white  steed  "  of 
the  Queen  of  Elfland,  in  Thomas  Rymer,  and  "  the  milk- 
white  ban  "  in  The  Twa  Sisters.  "  Milk-white  "  was  a  stock 
ballad  epithet  and  an  heroic  color,  even  Robin  Hood  often 
being  described  by  it.  The  single  touch  of  description  here 
is  also  the  characteristic  ballad  way  of  giving  a  whole  im- 
pression of  splendor  without  any  enumeration  of  detail.  So, 
in  Lord  Tho7/ias  and  Fair  Annet,  Annet's  gown  "skin- 
kled  in  their  een  "  and  "  shimmered  like  the  sun." 

23.  Let  thou  and  I  the  hattell  trye,  etc. :  the  setting  is 
genuinely  epic  here,  —  the  background  of  the  two  bodies  of 
retainers  and  the  contest  of  the  leaders  before  their  hosts. 

24.  llenery  our  king:  since  the  battle  of  Otterburn 
(1388)  was  fought  in  the  reign  of  Richard  II  (1377-1400), 


158  NOTES 

Henry  is  a  name  simply  chosen  at  random  by  the  minstrel 
as  a  common  king's  name  in  England. 

25.  That  ere  my  captaine  fought,  etc. :  cf.  the  parley 
between  Robin  Hood  and  Little  John  in  Rohin  Hood  and 
Guy  of  Gishorne,  stanzas  8-10. 

31.  Like  lyons  .  .  .  like  raine:  these,  and  otliers  through- 
out these  stanzas,  are  conventional  ballad  similes,  bare  of 
any  attempt  at  heightening  the  style. 

33.  James  our  Scottish  king:  James  I  was  not  born 
until  1394,  six  years  after  Otterburn  ;  but  Bishop  Percy 
said  :  "  A  succession  of  two  or  three  Jameses,  and  the  long 
detention  of  one  of  them  in  England,  would  render  the  name 
familiar  to  the  English  and  dispose  a  poet  in  those  rude  times 
to  give  it  to  any  Scottish  king  he  happened  to  mention." 

35.  I  will  not  yeelde  to  any  Scott,  etc.  :  tliere  is  a  sug- 
gestion here  of  Macbeth's  boast  to  Macduff :  — 

But  swords  I  smile  at,  weapons  laug-li  to  scorn, 
Brandish'd  by  man  that 's  of  a  woman  born.     V,  vii. 

Still  closer  is  the  parallel  in  the  old  version,  which  reads  :  — 

"  Nay,"  sayd  the  Lord  Perse, 
"  I  tolde  it  the  beforne, 
That  I  wolde  neuer  yeldyde  be 
to  no  man  of  a  woman  born." 

38.  Then  leaiiing  liffe,  etc.  :  "  That  beautiful  line  taking 
the  dead  man  by  the  hand  will  put  tbe  reader  in  mind  of 
^neas's  behavior  towards  Lausus,  whom  he  himself  had 
slain  as  he  came  to  the  rescue  of  his  aged  father."  Addi- 
son, The  Spectator,  No.  70.  Gummere  speaks  of  this  pas- 
sage as  one  that  "  breathes  a  spirit  as  noble  as  Sidney's 
own  knighthood,  and  must  have  delighted  his  soul."  The 
following  stanza  is  a  disappointing  anti-climax,  but  one  gets 
used  to  such  naive  slips  in  ballad  poetry. 

46.  The  grey-goose-winge,  etc. :  this  thought  "  was  never 
touched  by  any  otber  poet,  —  and  is  such  an  one  as  w^ould 
have  sbined  in  Homer  or  in  Virgil."  Addison,  The  Specta- 
tor, No.  74. 


NOTES  159 

48.  Sir  John  of  Egerton,  etc. :  it  is  possible  to  identify 
all  these  heroes,  but  as  with  "  the  muster-rolls  "  of  Milton's 
*'  charmed  names  "  the  charm  is  in  listening  to  their  sound. 

50.  For  when  his  leggs  tvere  smitten  of,  etc. :  Child  cites 
(III,  306;  IV,  602;  V,  298)  other  incidents  parallel  to 
this. 

52.  Jiis  sister's  sonne  was  hee:  cf.  Johnie  Cock,  stanza 
15,  and  Otterburn,  stanza  24.  Cf.  also  Gunmiere  on  The 
Sister's  Son  in  An  English  Miscellany. 

62.  after  on  Humhle-downe :  "  Tlie  singer  all  but  startles 
ns  with  his  historical  lore  when  he  informs  us  .  .  .  that  King 
Harry  the  Fourth  '  did  the  battle  of  Hombylldown '  to  re- 
quite the  death  of  Percy  ;  for  though  the  occasion  of  Hom- 
ildon  was  really  another  incursion  on  the  part  of  the  Scots, 
and  the  same  Percy  was  in  command  of  the  English  who 
in  the  ballad  meets  his  death  at  Otterburn,  nevertheless  the 
battle  of  Homildon  was  actually  tlone  fourteen  years  subse- 
quent to  that  of  Otterburn  and  fell  in  the  reign  of  Henry 
Fourth."  —  Child.  It  is,  of  course,  a  ballad  liberty  —  to 
assign  the  cause  of  the  battle  of  Homildon  to  the  results  of 
the  Percy's  defiance.  The  battle  was  fought  in  1402,  and 
the  English  under  the  lead  of  Northumberland  and  Hotspur 
defeated  the  Scots  under  Archibald,  Earl  of  Douglas,  cousin 
of  James,  Earl  of  Douglas,  killed  at  Otterburn. 

64.  God  saue  our  king,  etc. :  concerning  the  presence 
of  the  minstrel  in  his  song,  already  noted  in  the  invocation, 
Gummere  says  (The  Popular  Ballad,  260):  "Judging 
them,  then,  by  their  tone,  tliese  ballads  spring  originally 
from  fighting  men  of  the  better  sort,  and  suggest  the  old 
songs  of  warriors  by  warriors  and  for  warriors  which  one 
guesses  in  the  background  of  e])io.  Precisely,  too,  as  the 
nobler  sort  of  rhapsode  or  professional  jioet  worked  old  im- 
provisations into  epic  shape  without  impairing  their  note  of 
simple  and  hardy  courage,  so  a  border  minstrel  of  whatever 
time  has  surely  laid  his  hand  upon  the  original  form  of  these 
stirring  verses." 


160  NOTES 


JOHNIE  ARMSTRONG 


The  text  is  that  printed  by  Child  (III,  367)  from  Wit 
Restored  in  severall  Select  Poems  not  formerly  piihliskt, 
London.  1658.  There  are  three  versions,  and  the  ballad  is  also 
known  as  Johnie  Armstrong' s  Last  Good-Night.  Cf.  intro- 
ductory note  on  Bonny  Barbara  Allan.  The  Armstrongs 
were  an  important  family  in  Liddesdale  in  the  fourteenth 
and  following  centuries,  and  in  their  lawlessness  doubtless 
as  troublesome  to  their  own  king  as  to  the  English.  John 
Armstrong  early  in  the  sixteenth  century  built  for  himself 
a  tower  stronghold,  called  Gilnockie,  on  the  Esk  River.  In 
1530  James  the  Fif  tli  levied  an  arm}'  to  reduce  the  outlaws 
on  his  borders,  and  among  them  captured  and  hanged  John 
Armstrong.  Lindsay's  Cronicles  of  Scotland  corroborate 
the  ballad  in  asserting  that  Armstrong  was  captured  by 
strategy  and  hanged  without  a  hearing.  Child  quotes  (III, 
364,  365)  from  the  Cro7iicles  as  follows  :  "  So  when  he 
entered  in  before  the  king,  he  came  very  reverently,  with 
his  foresaid  number  very  richly  appareled,  trusting  that  in 
respect  he  had  come  to  the  king's  grace  willingly  and  vol- 
untarily, not  being  taken  nor  a{)prehended  by  the  king,  he 
should  obtain  the  more  favor.  But  when  the  king  saw  him 
and  his  men  so  gorgeous  in  their  apparel,  and  so  many 
braw  men  under  a  tyrant's  commandment,  throwardlie  he 
turned  about  his  face,  and  bade  take  that  tyrant  out  of  his 
sight,  saying.  What  wants  yon  knave  that  a  king  should 
have  ?  But  when  John  Armstrong  perceived  that  the  king 
kindled  in  a  fury  against  him,  and  had  no  hope  of  his  life, 
notwithstanding  of  many  just  and  fair  offers  which  he  offered 
to  the  king  .  .  .  [he]  said  very  proudly,  I  am  but  a  fool  to 
seek  grace  at  a  graceless  face.  But  had  I  known,  sir,  that 
ye  would  have  taken  my  life  this  day,  I  should  have  lived 
upon  the  borders  in  despite  of  King  Harry  and  you  both  ; 
for  I  know  King  Harry  would  down  weigli  my  best  horse 
with  gold  to  know  that  I  were  condemned  to  die  this  day. 


NOTES  161 

So  he  was   led   to  the  scaffold,  and  he  and  all    his    men 
hanged." 

1.  Westmerland :  since  Westmoreland  is  an  English 
county,  this  is,  of  course,  an  error,  to  be  accounted  for 
partly  by  the  fact  that  this  is  an  English  ballad,  and  perliaps 
by  Professor  Child's  explanation  that  Armstrong  lived  in 
the  West  March. 

1.  eight  score  men  in  his  hall :  the  account  of  Armstrong 
in  Anderson's  (c.  1618-35)  History  (cf.  Child,  III,  365) 
says  :  "  The  English  people  was  exceeding  glad  when  they 
understood  that  John  Armstrong  was  executed,  for  he  did 
great  robberies  and  stealing  in  England,  maintaining  twenty- 
four  men  in  household  every  day  upon  reiff  and  ojjpression." 

2.  milke-ivhite :  cf.  note  on  stanza  17,  Chevy  Chase. 

4.  The  king  he  writt  an  a  letter  then :  cf  stanza  3,  Sir 
Patrick  Spence. 

7.  Every  won  of  you  shall  have,  etc. :  an  unusual  amount 
of  detail  for  ballad  description.  Gummere  says  {The  Popu- 
lar Ballad,  308)  :  "  This  care  for  details  leads  away  from 
balladry,  and  points,  though  from  remote  distance,  to 
Chaucer." 

8.  ten  of  the  clock:  there  is  a  dramatic  power  in  these 
statements  of  time.  Note  here  the  repetition  of  the  first 
line  of  stanza  8  ;  note  also  in  Chevy  Chase,  stanza  3,  line 
4;  stanza  7,  line  3. 

11.  Good  Lord,  what  a  grevious  look  looked  hee  I :  in 
lines  like  this  and  line  4,  stanza  8,  we  feel  the  clan  grief 
voiced  in  the  minstrel. 

11.  Asking  grace  of  a  graceles  face :  this  memorable 
line  also  occurs  in  the  ballad  of  Mary  Hamilton,  see  Child 
(III.  389).  It  is  one  of  the  instances  where  the  verbal  repe- 
tition characteristic  of  primitive  poetry  is  peculiarly  im- 
pressive. 

14.  faire  Eddenburrough  rose:  another  version  is  a  little 
stronger  on  this  point : 

But  then  rise  up  iill  Edeiihoroug'h, 
They  rise  up  by  thousands  three. 


162  NOTES 

13.  Fight  on,  my  merry  men  all,  etc :  there  are  few  so 
spirited  battle  calls  in  all  the  ballads.  Guminere  says  {The 
Popular  Ballad,  37)  :  "  Doubtless  all  these  might  be  traced 
back  to  the  improvised  boat-song  of  the  Germanic  clans- 
man in  hall  or  camp,  at  the  feast  before  the  fight,  with  a  re- 
frain of  his  comrades,  truci  cantu,  as  Tacitus  calls  it,  a  wild 
choral  ringing  through  woods  and  hills  to  the  amazement  of 
the  silent  Roman  legions." 

17.  Newes  then  was  brought  to  young  lomie  Armestrong  : 
"  Not  infrequently,  in  popular  ballads,  a  very  young  (even 
unborn)  child  speaks,  by  miracle,  to  save  a  life,  vindicate 
innocence,  or  for  some  other  kindly  occasion  ;  sometimes 
again  to  threaten  revenge,  as  here."  —  Child.  Cf.  Edom 
0  Gordon,  stanza  19 ;  and  Scott,  The  Lay  of  the  Last  Min- 
strel, Canto  First,  ix,  — 

Until,  amid  his  sorrowing  clan, 

Her  son  lisped  from  the  nurse's  knee, 
"  And  if  I  live  to  be  a  man, 

My  father's  death  revenged  shall  be  !  " 

Gummere's  discussion  of  the  ballad  coronach  and  the  ballad 
good-night  will  be  found  suggestive  here.  See  The  Popular 
Ballad,  207-215. 

CAPTAIN  CAR 

The  text  is  that  printed  by  Child  (III,  430)  from  a 
British  Museum  manuscript  of  the  last  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury, a  date  very  near  that  of  the  event  recounted.  There 
are  nine  versions  of  the  ballad,  one  of  them  known  as  llie 
Burning  o  Loudon  Castle  and  others  as  Edom  o  Gordon. 
The  ballad  rests  upon  historical  fact.  Adam  Gordon  was 
deputy-lieutenant  for  Queen  Mary  in  the  north  of  Scotland 
in  1571,  and  so  came  into  collision  with  the  Forbeses,  who 
supported  the  king's  party.  Gordon  seems  to  have  been 
usually  successful  in  these  encounters,  but,  in  the  words  of 
the  contemporary  History  of  King  James  the  Sixth,  "  what 
glory  and  renown  he  obtained  of  these  two  victories  was  all 
cast  down  by  the  infamy  of  his  next  attempt;  for  immedi- 


NOTES  163 

ately  after  this  last  conflict  he  directed  his  soldiers  to  the 
castle  of  Towie,  desiring  the  house  to  be  rendered  to  him 
in  the  queen's  name  ;  whicli  was  obstinately  refused  by  the 
lady,  and  she  burst  forth  with  certain  injurious  words.  And 
the  soldiers  being  impatient,  by  command  of  their  leader, 
Captain  Ker,  fire  was  put  to  the  house,  wherein  she  and  the 
number  of  twenty-seven  persons  were  cruelly  burnt  to  the 
death."  Child  notes  (III,  425)  that  it  is  more  probable 
that  Captain  Ker  burnt  Towie  while  executing  a  general 
commission  to  hang  the  Forbeses  than  that  this  house 
should  have  been  made  a  special  object.  But  whether  this 
were  so  or  not,  it  is  evident  from  the  terms  in  which  the 
transaction  is  spoken  of  by  contemporaries,  who  were  famil- 
iarized to  a  ferocious  kind  of  warfare,  that  there  must  have 
been  something  quite  beyond  the  common  in  Captain  Ker's 
proceedings  on  this  occasion,  for  they  are  denounced,  even 
in  these  days  as  infamous,  inhuman,  and  barbarously  cruel, 
and  the  name  of  Adam  Gordon  is  said  to  have  been  made 
odious  by  them."  Elsewhere  in  the  chronicles,  he  is  re- 
ported for  signal  instances  of  humanity.  Where  Otterburn 
and  Chevy  Chase  are  international  in  their  interest,  this 
ballad  is  purely  domestic,  and  presents  all  the  virtues  which 
go  to  make  the  ballad  ideal  of  true  wifehood. 

1.  At  ^lartynmas  :  a  conventional  calendar  opening,  Hke 
that  of  Otterburn,  or  Bonny  Barbara  Allan. 

1.  go  take  a  holde :  look  for  a  stronghold  for  the  winter. 

2.  Wether  you  will,  etc. :  equivalent  to  the  deferential 
"  we  will  go  where  you  please." 

3.  /  knowe  ivher,  etc. :  here  speaks  Captain  Cur. 

4.  to  the  towne :  simply  an  inclosed  place. 

10.  /  'will  not  geue  ouer  my  hous,  etc. :  the  spirit  of 
these  lines  is  what  "awoke  an  admiring  response  in  the 
ballad  world."  The  pictures  of  Lady  Hamilton  in  these 
stanzas  and  in  stanza  4  touch  as  quickly. 

14.  That  he  would  sane  my  eldest  so7ine :  a  demand  of 
extremity  as  she  finds  herself  hard  pressed. 

21.  Joh?i  Hamleton:   the  false   steward,  a  former  ser- 


164  NOTES 

vant,  here  remiiifTs  me  of  the  false  "  nourice  "  in  Lamhin. 
"  The  making  Gordon  burn  a  house  of  the  Hamiltons,  who 
were  of  the  queen's  party,  is  a  heedless  perversion  of  his- 
tory such  as  is  to  be  found  only  in  '  histoi-ical '  ballads." — 
Child. 

23.  are  in  close  :  in  a  narrow  place. 

24.  Lord  Hanileton :  this  is,  of  course,  confusion  for  one 
of  the  Forbeses. 

28.  so  quite :  Gummere  suggests  the  addition  of  away. 

THE  BONNY  EARL  OF  MURRAY 

The  text  is  that  printed  by  Child  (III,  447)  from  Ram- 
say's Tea-Table  Miscellany,  1750.  There  are  two  versions 
of  the  ballad,  which  is  printed  in  numerous  collections. 
James  Stewart,  the  hero,  became  Eail  of  Murray  by  his 
marriage  with  the  oldest  daughter  of  the  Regent  Murray. 
The  contemporary  History  of  King  James  the  Sixth, 
already  quoted,  says,  "  He  was  a  comely  personage,  of  a 
great  stature,  and  strong  of  body  like  a  kemp."  He  was 
suspected  of  being  among  the  followers  of  Bothwell  in  the 
assault  upon  Holyrood  House,  1591,  and  the  Earl  of  Huntly, 
his  enemy,  persuaded  the  king  to  let  him  seize  Murray  and 
bring  him  to  trial.  He  came  upon  him  at  the  castle  of  his 
mother,  the  Lady  Doune,  and  fired  the  house.  The  earl 
endured  the  smoke  longer  than  the  other  inmates,  but 
finally,  under  cover  of  the  night,  left  and  ran  through  his 
enemies  to  a  hiding-place  in  the  rocks.  Here  he  would  have 
been  safe  had  not  the  tip  of  his  headpiece  taken  fire  before 
he  left  tlie  house,  and  revealed  his  position  to  his  pursuers. 
The  clamors  of  the  people  were  so  loud  against  the  outrage, 
that  the  king,  even,  dared  not  stay  in  Edinburgh,  but  be- 
took himself  to  Glasgow.  Huntly  went  unpunished,  either, 
as  Child  suggests,  because  the  king  really  believed  in  the 
earl's  guilt,  or  because,  according  to  James  Balfour,  "the 
queen,  more  rashly  than  wisely,  some  few  days  before  had 
commended  [Murray]  in  the  king's  hearing,  with  too  many 


NOTES  165 

epithets  of  a  proper  and  gallant  man."  Like  parts  of  Sir 
Patrick  Spence  (cf.  stanzas  9,  10)  or  Johnie  Armstrong 
(stanzas  11-13,  16),  the  ballad  is  of  the  coronach  type,  bnt 
is  peculiarly  interesting  for  the  complete  detachment  of  the 
narrative  from  the  situation,  and  for  tlie  intensity  of  the 
choral  grief. 

1.  Te  Highlands,  and  ye  Lawlands :  tlie  line  wakes 
echoes  of  Burns's  "Ye  banks  and  braes  o'  bonnie  Doon." 

1.  layd  him  on  the  green  :  the  body  of  the  earl  lay  un- 
buried  for  several  months  in  the  church  at  Leith,  waiting 
for  his  murder  to  be  avenged. 

2.  Now  wae  be  to  thee,  Hunthj,  etc. :  this  is  spoken  by 
the  king.  In  one  version  (Finlay's  Scottish  Ballads')  Huntly 
is  represented  as  the  brother  of  the  Countess  of  Murray, 
and  the  ballad  opens  :  — 

"  Open  the  g'at.es, 

And  let  liini  come  in  ; 
He  is  my  brother  Huntly, 
He  '11  do  him  nae  harm." 

3.  rid  at  the  ring :  in  this  game  one  rode  at  full  speed 
and  tried  to  carry  olf  on  tlie  point  of  his  lance  a  ring  sus- 
pended from  some  slight  support. 

5.  playd  at  the  glove:  probably,  a  similar  game  in  which 
a  glove  takes  tlie  place  of  the  ring. 

6.  Castle  Doun :  one  of  the  seats  of  the  Earls  of  Murray. 

KINMONT  WILLIE 

This  is  printed  ])y  Child  (III,  472)  from  Scott's  31in- 
strelsij  of  the  Scottish  Border,  the  only  version.  Scott  says, 
"  Tiiis  ballad  is  preserved  by  tradition  in  the  West  Borders, 
but  much  mangled  by  reciters,  so  that  some  conjectural 
emendations  have  been  absolutely  necessary  to  render  it  in- 
telligil>le."  How  nuich  of  its  form  is  due  to  Scott,  and  how 
much  to  tradition,  it  is  impossible  to  say.  Chikl  (III,  472) 
says  :  "  It  is  to  be  suspected  that  a  great  deal  more  emenda- 
tion was  done  than  the  manfrlincr  of  reciters  rendered  abso- 


166  NOTES 

lutely  necessary,"  and  lie  clamors  for  stanzas  10-12  and  31 
in  their  mangled  state.  Kittredge  (Introduction  to  Cambridge 
Edition  of  Child's  English  arid  Scottish  Ballads,  xxlx,  xxx) 
says :  "  The  traditional  ballad  appears  to  be  inimitable  by 
any  person  of  literary  cultivation,  and  we  may  feel  grateful 
to  those  poets  and  poetasters  who  have  tried  their  hands  at 
it,  for  their  invariable  failure  is  one  of  the  strongest  proofs 
—  amounting  almost  to  demonstration  —  that  there  is  a 
difference  between  the  '  poetry  of  the  folk  '  and  '  the  poetry  of 
art.'  A  solitary,  though  doubtful,  exception  is  '  Kinmont 
Willie,'  which  is  under  vehement  susi^icion  of  being  the 
work  of  Sir  Walter  Scott.  Sir  Walter's  success,  however, 
.  .  .  would  only  emphasize  the  universal  failure.  And  it 
must  not  be  forgotten  that  '  Kinmont  Willie,'  if  it  is  to  be 
Scott's  work,  is  not  made  out  of  whole  cloth  ;  it  is  a  working- 
over  of  one  of  the  best  traditional  ballads  known  ('  Jock  o' 
the  Side'),  with  the  intention  of  fitting  it  to  an  historical 
exploit  of  Buccleuch's.  Further,  the  exploit  itself  was  of 
such  a  nature  that  it  might  well  have  been  celebrated  in  a 
ballad,  —  indeed,  one  is  tempted  to  say  that  it  must  have 
been  so  celebrated.  And  finally,  Sir  Walter  Scott  felt  to- 
wards '  the  Kinmont,'  and  the  '  bold  Buccleuch  '  precisely  as 
the  moss-trooping  author  of  such  a  ballad  would  have  felt. 
For  once,  then,  the  miraculous  happened,  and,  when  we 
study  the  situation,  we  perceive  that,  for  this  once,  it  was 
not  so  great  a  miracle  after  all." 

The  exploit  recounted  in  the  ballad  is,  briefly,  as  follows  : 
William  Armstrong,  of  the  same  family  as  the  hero  of 
Johnie  Armstrong,  was  captured  for  freebooting  by  the 
English  about  1596  and  imprisoned  in  Carlisle  Castle.  Sir 
Walter  Scott,  laird  of  Buccleuch,  tried  to  obtain  his  release 
from  Sakeld,  the  representative  of  Lord  Scroop,  warder  of 
the  West  Marches ;  and  this  failing,  from  Queen  Elizabeth 
herself.  But  his  appeals  being  refused,  he  set  out  for 
Carlisle  in  April  with  two  hundred  horsemen,  made  a 
breach  in  the  castle  walls,  entered  and  captured  the  watch- 
men, and  set   the  prisoner  free.  Scroop  and  Sakeld  were 


NOTES  167 

both  sleeping  in  the  castle,  and  Willie,  as  he  leaves  them, 
calls  back  a  satirical  good-niglit.  The  Scots  were  pursued 
to  the  river  Eden,  but  the  flooded  banks  checked  their  ene- 
mies there,  and  their  escape  was  assured. 

1.  Halrihee  :  the  place  of  execution  near  Carlisle. 

3.  Liddel-rack :  a  ford  in  the  river  Liddel. 

6.  take  farewell  o  me :  as  he  did,  most  effectively,  in 
stanza  38. 

13.  0  ivere  there  war,  etc.:  since  there  was  not,  he  was 
most  careful  in  taking  the  castle  "  to  have  it  seen,"  says  the 
old  chronicle,  "  that  he  did  intend  nothing  but  the  re- 
paration of  his  majesty's  honor,"  no  one  was  injured  and  no 
booty  was  taken. 

19.  broken  men  :  outlaws. 

19.  Woodhouselee  :  Buccleuch's  house  on  the  Bordei". 

20.  'Bateable  Lands :  Debateable  Lands,  a  tract  on  the 
western  border,  parted  between  England  and  Scotland. 

24.  Diclcie  of  Dn/hope  :  also  an  Armstrong. 
26.  meikle  ofspait:  overflooded  :  one  recalls  Tennyson's 
lines  where  Gareth 

in  a  showerful  spring 
Stared  at  the  spate.  —  Gareth  and  Lynette. 

30.  upo7i  the  lead  :  the  leaden  roof. 

31.  0  ivhae  dare  meddle  tvi  me :  a  famous  Liddesdale 
song. 

40.  0  inony  a  time,  etc. :  hnmor  "  lifts  its  head  "  as  un- 
expectedly here  as  in  the  straits  of  the  Robin  Hood  ballads. 
Gummere  says  of  this  ballad  {The  Popular  Ballad,  2rjl), 
"One  seems  to  be  reading  something  like  a  dramatic  lyric 
of  Browning,  with  moss  troopers  instead  of  the  old  cavalier 
and  without  'my  boy  George,'  but  all  done  to  the  life." 

BONNIE  GEORGE   CAMPBELL 

The  text  is  that  printed  by  Child  (IV,  143)  from  Smith's 
Scottish  Minstrel.  There  are  four  versions  of  this  ballad, 
which  is  al.-io  known  as  Bonnie  James  Campbell.  Of  the 


168  NOTES 

identity  of  the  hero  Child  says  (IV,  142):  "Campbells 
enow  were  killed,  in  battle  or  feud,  before  and  after  1590, 
to  forbid  a  guess  as  to  an  individual  James  or  George 
grounded  upon  the  slight  data  afforded  the  ballad."  It  is  a 
genuine  bit  of  choral  grief  with  a  wonderfully  strong  singing 
quality,  and  the  lament  of  the  '■  bonnie  bryde  "  in  stanza  4 
is  close  to  the  "  articulate  cry  "  of  the  poet  in  the  more 
modern  lyric  of  grief. 

THE  DOWY  HOUMS  0   YARROW 

The  text  is  that  printed  by  Child  (IV,  168)  from  Scotch 
Ballads,  Materials  for  Border  Minstrelsy,  as  given  in  the 
handwriting  of  James  Hogg.  There  are  nineteen  versions, 
including  several  fragments;  and  the  ballad  is  also  known 
as  The  Braes  of  Yarrow,  The  Bowie  Dens  or  Banks  of 
Tarrow  and  the  Yefts  of  Gowrie.  Hogg,  sending  the  ver- 
sion to  Scott,  wrote  as  follows  (cf.  Child,  IV,  163)  :  "Tra- 
dition placeth  the  event  on  which  the  song  is  founded  very 
early.  That  the  song  hath  been  written  near  the  time  of  the 
transaction  appears  quite  evident,  although,  like  others,  by 
frequent  singing  the  language  is  become  ada])ted  to  an  age 
not  so  far  distant.  The  bard  does  not  at  all  relate  particu- 
lars, but  only  mentions  some  striking  features  of  a  tragical 
event  which  everybody  knew.  .  .  .  The  hero  of  the  ballad 
is  said  to  have  been  of  the  name  of  Scott,  and  is  called  a 
knight  of  great  bravery.  He  lived  in  Ettrick  .  .  .  but  was 
treacherously  slain  by  his  brother-in-law  as  related  in  the 
ballad,  who  had  him  at  ill  will  because  his  father  had  parted 
with  the  half  of  all  his  goods  and  gear  to  his  sister  on  Iier 
marriage  with  such  a  respectable  man.  The  name  of  tlie 
murderer  is  said  to  be  Annand,  a  name  I  believe  merely 
conjectural  from  the  name  of  the  place  where  they  are  said 
both  to  be  buried,  which  at  this  day  is  called  Annan's  Treat, 
a  low  muir  lying  to  the  west  of  Yarrow  church,  where  two 
huge  tall  stones  are  erected,  below  which  the  least  child  that 
can  walk  the  road  will  tell  you  the  two  lords  are  buried  that 


NOTES  169 

were  slain  in  a  duel."  Scott  believed  that  the  ballad  referred 
to  the  killing  of  Walter  Scott  of  Tushielaw  in  1616 ;  but 
Child's  comment  is  that  "  there  is  nothing  in  the  ballad  to 
connect  it  preferably  with  the  Scotts  ;  the  facts  are  such  as 
are  likely  to  have  occurred  often  in  history,  and  a  similar 
story  is  found  in  other  ballads." 

Like  The  Cruel  Brother,  this  is  a  story  of  a  brother's  ven- 
geance, except  that  here  the  brother  spares  the  woman  and 
slays  the  man ;  and  in  all  the  versions  there  is  evidently  a 
settled  enmity  between  the  family  of  the  lady  and  that  of 
the  knight ;  evidently,  from  stanza  13,  the  former  believed 
the  heir  an  inferior  match. 

1.  Late  at  een,  etc.  :  in  other  versions  the  quarrel,  which 
here  seems  unaccountable,  is  over  a  dispute  as  to  who  is  "  The 
Flower  of  Yarrow,"  and  the  knight's  assertion  that  it  is  his 
own  lady. 

2.  3Ii/  cruel  brother  will  you  betray :  her  suspicion  is 
justified  by  the  meeting  of  her  husband,  in  stanza  5,  with 
the  armed  men,  who  would  never  have  been  stationed  in 
"  the  dowy  honms  o  Yarrow  "  by  mere  chance. 

2.  Yarrow:  the  romantic  beauty  of  the  stream,  as  well 
as  the  poetic  beauty  of  its  name,  has  made  it  famous  in 
poetry.  Wordsworth  alone,  in  Yarrow  Visited,  Yarroiv  Un- 
visited.  Yarrow  Revisited,  would  have  made  it  immortal. 
Half  of  the  beauty  of  the  ballad  is  in  the  melodious  echo  of 
the  name  of  the  river  from  stanza  to  stanza. 

3.  0 fare  ye  weel,  etc.:  the  gallant  confidence  that  has 
always  tempted  the  gods. 

6.  0  ir  ye  come,  etc. :  stanza  6  is  spoken  by  the  armed 
men,  and  7  is  the  knight's  retort. 

8.  Stubborn  :  in  the  sense  of  fierce,  unappeasable. 

9.  good  brother:  t.e.  brother-in-law.  Either  he  took  no 
part  in  the  fight,  since  all  the  assailants  were  killed  or 
wounded  ;  or  he  is  himself  "  that  stubborn  knight." 

10.  Yestreen  I  dreamed,  etc. :  Percy's  version  of  the  bal- 
lad opens  with  this  dream  :  — 


170  NOTES 

"  I  dreamed  a  dreary  dream  this  nig-ht, 
That  fills  my  heart  wi  sorrow  ; 
I  dreamed  I  was  pouing  the  heather  green 
Upon  the  braes  of  Yarrow." 

10.  Pw'cZ  the  heather  green  :  Child  (II,  181,  182)  quotes 
Kinloch  as  saying  that  green  is  considered  unlucky  in  love 
affairs  ;  one  couplet  running, — 


and  another, — 


Green  is  love  deen, 
Yellow  's  forsaken, 

They  that  marry  in  green, 
Their  sorrow  is  soon  seen. 


In  one  version  of  Lord  Thomas  and  Fair  Annet,  Annie 
says :  — 

"  I  '11  na  put  on  the  grisly  black. 
Nor  yet  the  dowie  green." 

Gummere  {The  Fopular  Ballad,  121)  speaks  of  a  color 
scheme  for  designating  the  different  relatives,  green  being 
the  color  for  the  death  of  a  brother.  This  may  apply  here, 
since  some  versions  specify  all  the  slain  and  \younded  as 
Sarah's  brothers,  although  only  the  loss  of  her  husband  is  in 
her  mind  here.  The  version  printed  by  Herd  follows  here 
with  a  beautiful,  although  somewhat  conscious,  stanza  :  — 

"  O  g'entle  wind,  that  bloweth  south, 
From  where  my  love  repaireth, 
Convey  a  kiss  from  his  dear  mouth, 
And  tell  me  how  he  f areth  !  ' ' 

15.  Take  hame  your  ousen :  "  This  I  conceive  to  be  an 
interpolation  by  a  reciter  wdio  followed  the  tradition  cited 
from  Hogg."  —  Child. 

JOHNIE  COCK 

The  text  is  that  printed  by  Child  (III,  3)  from  the 
Percy  Papers,  Miss  Fisher's  MS.,  1780.  There  are  thirteen 
versions  of  this  ballad,  which  is  also  known  as  Johnie  of 
Cockerslee,  Johnie  o  Cocklesmulr,  Johnie  of  Breadislee, 
Johnnie  Brad,  Johnie  of  Braidisbank.    "  The  first  notice 


NOTES  17J 

in  print  of  this  precious  specimen  of  the  unspoiled  tradi- 
tional hallad"  says  Child  (III,  1)  "is  in  Ritson's  Scotish 
Song,  1794.  .  .  .  Scott,  1802,  was  the  first  to  publish  the 
ballad,  selecting  '  the  stanzas  of  greatest  merit '  from  several 
copies  which  were  in  his  hands."  To  tliis  version  Scott 
gave  the  title,  Johnie  of  Breadislee.  All  versions  of  this 
"  greenwood  ballad  "  agree  in  the  main  points  of  the  story, 
and  the  character  of  the  outlaw  hero,  but  differ  widely  as 
to  the  scene.  As  Gummere  says,  however,  "  the  localities 
.  .  .   import  little  or  nothing." 

1.  Were  hound  in  iron  bands :  i.  e.  were  kept  from 
hunting  by  the  game  laws.  The  refrain  hei-e  may  be  re- 
garded as  })roof  of  the  age  of  this  version.  Repeating  the 
last  word  of  the  third  line,  and  the  whole  of  the  fourth  line, 
after  the  form  printed  in  the  first  stanza,  will  give  the  sing- 
ing quality  which  is  the  ballad's  right. 

2.  Care-bed  she  has  taen :  she  is  sick-a-bed  of  her 
anxiety. 

4.  Lincoln  green :  for  protective  coloring.  '"  Old  things 
and  new  jostle  each  other  in  'Johnie  Cock';  wolves  roam 
about,  and  birds  give  information,  .  .  .  Johnie  himself  .  .  . 
wears  not  only  Lincoln  green,  but  '  shoes  of  the  American 
leather.'  "  —  Gummere,  The  Popidar  Ballad,  267. 

5.  bent  bow :  the  alliteration  throughout  the  ballad  is 
noticeable,  although  there  is  here  nothing  quite  so  striking 
as  a  line  in  the  version  of  Motherwell's  Minstrelsy :  — 

And  he  is  awa  to  Braidisbanks, 
To  ding  the  dun  deer  down. 

But  all  these  alliterations  are  more  a  matter  of  traditional 
phrasing  than  of  conscious  composition. 

8.  three  quarters :  of  a  yard.  Even  in  this  small  collec- 
tion, the  reader  is  convinced  by  this  time  that  the  pen- 
knife is  a  ballad  commonplace.  When  only  "  three  quarters  " 
long,  it  is  always  '•  wee." 

15.  sisters  son:  Gummere  i^nys  (The  Popular  Ballad, 
183),  "The  ballads  have  ])reserved  some  remarkable  traces 
of  the  precedence  of  a  sister's  son  over  a  man's  own  son,  a 


172  NOTES 

condition  which  was  noted  by  Tacitus  among  the  ancient  Ger- 
mans, and  is  the  subject  of  considerable  comment  by  eth- 
nologists who  lind  it  still  surviving  among  barbarous  nations 
and  savage  tribes."  Cf.  Chevy  Chase,  stanza  52  and  note ; 
Otterhurn,  stanza  24. 

17.  The  wildest  wolf,  eic:  What  expression  of  Johnie's 
wrath  at  the  cowardly  attack  upon  him  could  be  more  im- 
pressive than  this  ? 

18.  0  hoivs  of  yeiv,  etc. :  the  Internal  rhymes  in  this 
stanza  are  wonderfully  musical. 

20.  Is  there  never  a  hoy :  Child  thinks  this  undoubtedly 
a  corruption  for  the  bird  of  all  the  other  versions.  So  in 
Scott's  version  :  — 

"  O  is  there  tia  a  bonnie  bird 
Can  sing  as  I  can  say, 
Could  flee  away  to  my  mother's  bower, 
And  tell  to  fetch  Johnie  away  ?  '' 

The  starlmg  flew  to  his  mother's  window-stane, 
'      It  whistled  and  it  sang, 
And  aye  the  ower-word  o  the  tune 
"  Was,  Johnie  tarries  lang." 

THE  ROBIN  HOOD  BALLADS 

Whether  Robin  Hood  was  actually  an  historical  character 
will  probably  always  be  a  matter  of  dispute.  By  some  au- 
thorities he  is  believed  to  have  been  a  great  political  leader, 
one  of  those  yeomen  who,  under  Edward  II,  joined  the  re- 
bellion of  the  Earl  of  Lancaster  ;  they  all  failed  and  were 
ruined,  and  Robin  betook  himself  at  once  to  Sherwood 
Forest,  where  he  lived  as  an  outlaw  until  his  death  at  Kirk- 
lees  Abbey.  Others,  including  most  of  the  modern  critics, 
consider  him  a  purely  literary  creation,  representative,  how- 
ever, of  the  general  relations  between  the  Anglo-Saxons  and 
the  intruding  Normans  in  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centu- 
ries. One  German  scholar,  Kuhn,  would  go  still  farther  and 
call  Robin  a  purely  mythical  being,  possibly  Woden  him- 
self, making  the  connection  by  the  ingeiiious  chain  of  Hood- 


NOTES  173 

Wood-Woden.  Professor  Hales  says,  in  his  edition  of 
Percys  Folio  MS.  :  ''  We  are  not  inclined  to  deny  the  ex- 
istence of  Robin  Hood.  There  is  a  certain  local  precision 
and  constancy  in  the  ballads.  We  can  well  believe  that  .  .  . 
some  outlaw  of  the  name  did  make  himself  famous  in  the 
North  Country  .  .  .  till  his  name  became  a  household  word, 
and  himself  the  universal  darling  of  the  conmion  people." 
Professor  Child  says  emphatically,  "  Robin  Hood  is  abso- 
lutely a  creation  of  the  ballad  nmse.  .  .  .  The  only  two 
early  historians  who  speak  of  him  [Bower,  c.  1441 ;  Paston, 
c.  1473]  as  a  baUad-hero,  pretend  to  have  no  information 
about  him  except  what  they  derive  from  ballads."  The  re- 
sults obtained  by  Clawson,  the  most  recent  investigator  of 
the  subject,  confirm  Child's  conclusion.  And  all  contempo- 
rary history  is  silent  concerning  him  except  as  a  ballad 
hero.  The  first  allusion  to  Robin  Hood  is  in  Piers  Plough- 
7nan,  c.  1377,  where  Sloth  does  not  know  his  pater  noster 
but  says  :  "  I  can  rymes  of  Robyn  Hood."  Probably  these 
'*  rymes "  were  the  original  ballads  from  which  the  Gest 
was  composed.  The  Gest  was  first  printed  in  1490  with  the 
title,  A  Lytell  Geste  of  Robyn  Hode,  and  is  itself  a  history 
of  the  whole  life  of  its  hero,  divided  into  eight  Fijttes.  Sub- 
sequent ballads,  four  of  which  may  be  of  equal  age  with  the 
material  of  the  Gest,  contribute  new  incidents  to  Robin's 
career  but  add  little  to  the  original  drawing  of  his  charac- 
ter. On  this  point  all  agree,  —  that  Robin  Hood  was  a  robber 
on  principles  of  justice  only,  that  he  relieved  the  barons  and 
the  bishops  of  their  ill-gotten  gains  merely  that  he  might 
distribute  them  among  the  poor ;  that  he  was  loyal  to  his 
king  but  hated  the  aristocracy,  and  loved  the  church  but 
despised  her  rich  prelates.  Justice  .and  fair-dealing  was 
always  his  cry,  and  he  was  ever  ready  to  undertake  the 
cause  of  any  man  who  was  put  upon.  Open-handed,  tender- 
hearted, generous,  brave,  full  of  fun  and  of  witty  expedi- 
ents when  caught  in  a  trap,  —  he  had  in  the  rough  all  the 
virtues  of  a  true  English  gentleman.  He  is  more  a  flesh- 
and-blood  hero  than  Kiug  Arthur,  and  if  popularity  be  any 


174  NOTES 

test,  he  may  be  considered  his  rival  as  the  hero  of  English 
song. 

EOBIN  HOOD  AND  GUY  OF  GISBORNE 

The  text  is  that  printed  by  Child  (III,  91)  from  the 
Percy  MS.  This  is  a  perfect  specimen  of  the  purely  narra- 
tive ballad  ;  and  what  that  implies  may  be  felt  by  comparing 
it  for  a  moment  with  a  pure  ballad  of  situation  like  Babylon. 
It  is  along  story,  with  epic  characteristics  from  beginning  to 
end :  it  has  the  formal  introductory  statement  of  time  and 
place  in  stanza  1 ;  it  is  throughout  full  of  alliteration ;  it 
abounds  in  jjroverbial  sayings,  as  in  stanzas  4,  11,  19,  etc. : 
it  comments  upon  the  story,  as  in  stanza  36  ;  it  consciously 
guides  the  reader,  as  in  stanza  21.  Furthermore,  in  true 
epic  style,  it  centres  attention  upon  the  fight,  and  describes 
it  with  a  wealth  of  detail  that  is  wholly  unusual.  All  this  is 
a  far  cry  from  the  simjjlicity  of  those  ballads  which  stand 
closer  to  choral  origins.  The  loss  of  several  stanzas  at  the 
beginning  make  the  start  a  little  confusing ;  and  the  confu- 
sion is  still  worse  confounded  by  the  shift  to  the  past  tense 
in  the  second  stanza.  In  Hales  and  Furnivall's  Bishop 
Fercifs  Folio  MS.  the  second  stanza  is  split  to  let  in  four 
lines,  which  help  out  the  story,  as  follows  :  — 

The  woodweete  sang  and  would  not  cease 

Amongst  the  leaves  o'  lyne  ; 
[So  loud,  he  wakened  Robin  Hood, 

In  the  greenwood  where  he  lay. 

*'  Now,  by  my  foy,"  said  jolly  Robin, 
"  A  sweven  I  had  this  night ;] 
And  it  is  by  two  wight  yeomen, 
By  dear  God  that  I  mean." 

2.  by :  concerning. 

2.  two  wight  yeomen :  Child  says  (III,  89,  90)  :  "  Sir  Guy 
being  one,  the  other  person  pointed  at  must  of  course  be  the 
sheriff  of  Nottingham  (who  seems  beyond  his  beat  in  York- 
shire, but  outlaws  can  raise  no  questions  of  jurisdiction),  in 
league  with  Sir  Guy  (a  Yorkshireman,  who  has  done  many 


NOTES  175 

a  cuvst  turn)  for  the  capture  or  slaying  of  Robin.  The  dream 
simply  foreshadows  danger  from  two  quarters.  But  Robin 
Hood  is  nowhere  informed,  as  we  are,  that  the  sheriff  is  out 
against  him  with  seven  score  men,  has  attacked  his  camp, 
and  taken  John  prisoner." 

11.  Barnesdale :  one  of  Robin's  favorite  haunts  in 
Yorkshire. 

17.  Good  William  a  Trent :  as  inconsistent  a  phrase  as 
"  wee  penknife  "  "  three  quarters  long  "  in  Johnie  Cock. 

24.  Wllfull  of  mij  way,  etc.  :  I  have  lost  all  trace  of  my 
way  and  of  the  time  of  morning. 

27.  unsett  steven :  time  not  previously  fixed  upon. 

28.  prickes  :  the  wand  used  for  a  mark  in  shooting.  One 
recalls  here  Scott's  account  of  the  shooting  of  Lockesley  in 
loanhoe. 

39.  Ah,  deere  Lady:  Robin's  devotion  to  the  Virgin  is 
noticeable  in  all  the  ballads.  So  in  the  Gest  we  read  :  — 

Euery  day  or  he  wold  dyne 

Thre  messes  wolde  he  here, 
The  one  in  the  worship  of  the  Fader, 

And  another  of  tlie  Holy  Gost, 
The  thirde  of  Our  dere  Lady, 

That  he  loved  allther  moste. 

40.  Akwarde  :  unexpected  ;  or  possibly,  back-handed. 
44.  Put  on  that  capull-hyde :  as  disguise. 

48.  To  see  how  my  men  doe  jfare :  Robin  cannot  know 
that  the  sheriff  is  after  him  and  his  men.  Child  concludes 
that  as  "  there  is  no  cranny  where  it  could  have  been  thrust 
in,  .  .  .  it  will  not  be  enough  to  suppose  that  verses  have 
been  dropped  out ;  there  must  also  have  been  a  considerable 
derangement  of  the  story." 

56.  rowstye  by  the  roote :  rusty  not  so  nmch  with  damp- 
ness as  with  the  blood  of  the  slain. 

ROBIN  HOODS  DEATH  AND  BURIAL 

The  text  is  that  ])rinted  by  Child  (111,  lOG)  from  The 
English  Archer,  Paisley,  1786.  There  are   two  versions; 


176  NOTES 

the  older  one  of  the  Percy  MS.,  is  imperfect ;  it  is  known 
as  Robhi  Hoode  his  Death.  The  version  liere  printed, 
although  found  only  in  late  garlands,  is,  to  quote  Child,  "  in 
the  fine  old  strain."  Two  chronicles  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
Grafton's  and  Holinshed's,  record  the  main  incidents  of  the 
ballad,  —  Robin's  going  to  the  nunnery  (Bircklies,  or  Brick- 
lies)  to  be  bled,  and  falling  into  the  hands  of  his  traitorous 
cousin ;  and  the  latter  adds  that  Little  John,  after  his  mas- 
ter's death,  fled  to  Ireland.  Practically  the  same  account  is 
given  in  the  Gest .-  — 

Yet  he  was  begyled,  i-wys, 

Throwg-h  a  wycked  woman, 
The  pryoresse  of  Kyrkesly, 

That  nye  was  of  hys  kynne. 


Cryst  haue  mercy  on  his  soule, 

That  dyed  on  the  rode  ! 
For  he  was  a  good  outlawe, 

And  dyde  pore  men  moch  god. 

3.  fair  Kirkley :  Kirklees  nunnery,  near  Wakefield,  in 
Yorkshire. 

4.  At  the  rinr/ :  the  hammer  of  the  door-knocker. 

4.  so  ready  as  his  cousin :  in  the  older  version  the  sug- 
gestion of  betrayal  comes  sooner.  Will  Scarlett,  to  whom 
Robin  there  announces  his  intention  of  going  to  the  nunnery, 
speaks  as  follows  :  — 

"  That  I  reade  not,"  said  Will  Scarllett, 
"  Master,  by  the  assente  of  me, 
Without  a  halfe  hundred  of  your  best  bowmen 
You  take  to  goe  with  yee. 

For  there  a  good  yeoman  doth  abide 

Will  be  sure  to  quarrell  with  thee, 
And  if  thou  have  need  of  us,  master. 

In  faith  we  will  not  flee." 

Robin,  however,  incensed  by  Will's  caution,  which  he  calls 
cowardice,  takes  Little  John,  and  proceeds.  On  the  way 
they  meet  weeping  women  whose  words  seem  to  have  all  the 
foreshadowing  of  coming  doom  of  the  witches  in  Macbeth :  — 


NOTES  177 

We  weepen  for  his  [Robin's]  deare  body, 
That  this  day  must  be  lett  bloode. 

But  Robin  feavs  nothing,  trusting  wholly  to  the  faithfulness 
of  kin. 

8.  bleed  all  the  live-long  day :  the  ohler  version  has  a 
graphic  touch  here.  Cf.  HugJi  of  Lincoln,  stanza  8,  and 
note  thereon. 

The  grave  of  Robin  Hood,  so  called,  is  still  pointed  out  to 
the  curious.  A  cross  is  said  to  have  once  marked  the  Biiot, 
bearing  an  epitaph  to  the  effect  that  Robert,  Earl  of 
Huntington,  called  "  Robin  Hood,"  died  December  24, 1247, 
and  was  buried  there.  One  version  adds  after  the  nineteenth 
stanza  the  following  "foolish  "  Hues  evidently  made  to  in- 
troduce the  epitaph  (cf.  Child,  III,  107). 

Thus  he  that  never  feared  bow  nor  spear 

Was  murderd  by  letting  blood  ; 
And  so,  lo\'ing'  friends,  the  story  it  ends 

Of  valiant  Robin  Hood. 

There  's  nothing-  remains  but  his  epitaph  now, 

Which,  reader,  here  you  have, 
To  this  very  day  which  read  you  may, 

As  it  is  upon  his  grave. 
Hey  down  a  derry  derry  down. 

For  the  epitaph,  however,  we  must  go  to  still  another  ver- 
sion (cf.  Child,  III,  107). 

Robert  Earl  of  Hunting'ton 
Lies  under  this  little  stone. 
No  archer  was  like  him  so  good, 
His  wildness  nam'd  him  Robin  Hood. 
Full  thirteen  years  and  something  more 
These  no[r]thern  parts  he  vexed  sore  : 
Such  outlaws  as  he  and  his  men 
May  England  never  know  again. 

ROBIN  HOOD  RESCUINQ  THE  WIDOW'S  THREE  SONS 

Tlie  text  is  that  printed  by  Child  (III,  180)  from  The 
English  Archer,  Robin   Hood's    Garland,  York    edition, 


178  NOTES 

without  date.  There  are  three  versions  of  this  ballad, 
and  it  is  also  known  as  Robin  Hood  Rescuing  Three 
Squires.  Out  of  the  whole  collection  of  thirty-six  Robin 
Hood  ballads,  only  five  have  come  down  to  us  in  trust- 
worthy ancient  form  ;  some  twenty  of  the  remainder  belong 
to  garlands  or  broadsides  of  the  seventeenth  century.  Some 
of  these  have  in  them  much  of  the  popular  quality,  and 
others  are  *'  charwork."  But,  although  inferior,  they  were 
well  enough  beloved  in  rural  England.  Their  inferiority 
to  a  certain  extent  may  be  readily  felt  here  after  reading 
Guy  of  Gisborne,  —  there  is  a  shrinkage  in  Robin's  heroic 
stature  and  he  seems  a  little  more  of  an  actor  upon  a  stage  ; 
the  ballad  repetition  is  less  effective  and  in  parts  tiresome ; 
there  is  a  consciousness  in  the  style  throughout.  Yet  the 
ballad  retains  what  Gummere  calls  some  "genuine  old  ballad 
stuff  in  its  dotage  "  ;  and  it  is  interesting  as  a  study  in  tran- 
sition between  the  earliest  Robin  Hood  ballads,  of  which 
Child  says,  "  none  in  England  please  so  many  and  please  so 
long,"  and  those  that  are  wholly  degenerate,  "  sometimes 
wearisome,  sometimes  sickening"  variations  upon  "the 
theme,  '  Robin  Hood  met  with  his  match.'  " 

2.  silly  old  woman:  .  .  .  three  squires :  in  another  ver- 
sion she  claims  them  at  once  as  her  sons. 

6.  Bearing  their  long  bows  with  thee :  sufficient  reason 
to  the  loyal  Robin  to  bestir  himself. 

11.  0  thine  apparel  is  good,  etc.  :  cf .  with  the  change  of 
apparel  with  the  beggar  in  Hind  Horn.  The  palmer  naturally 
doubts  Robin's  sincerity,  but  the  "  twenty  pieces  of  good 
broad  gold  "  suffice  to  clinch  the  bargain. 

13.  The  first  bold,  bargain  :  the  spirit  of  frolic  always 
enters  Robin's  heart  the  moment  he  is  embarked  upon  a  new 
enterprise.  Stage  accessories,  like  the  hat,  cloak,  shoes,  etc., 
always  add  to  his  glee,  for  he  enjoys  "  dressing  up  "  as  any 
boy  would. 

20.  Some  suits :  in  another  version  it  is  the  clothes  of 
the  hanged  men  and  their  money  that  is  offered  to  him. 

21.  jumps  from  stock  to  stone :  total  disguise  is  always 
impossible  for  Robin. 


NOTES  179 

24.  For  thee  it  bloivs  little  good:  the  boastful  tone  rouses 
quick  reseutnient. 

28.  The  're  7tii/  attendants  :  in  another  version  we  have 
the  dramatic  touch  of  Robin's  standing  forth,  a  good  yeoman 
undisguised  "  in  a  doublet  of  red  veluett "  as  soon  as  his  men 
arrive. 

29.  They  hangd  the  proud  sheriff :  no  choice  of  escape 
is  offered  him  here,  but  in  the  London  edition  of  the  gar- 
land, we  read :  — 

"  O  take  them,  O  take  them,"  says  great  master  sheriff, 
"  O  take  them  along-  with  thee  ; 
For  there  's  never  a  man  in  all  Nottingham 
Can  do  the  like  of  thee." 


GLOSSARY 


A 


a',  all. 

a,  I  (as  in  a  teat,  I  know). 

aboone, aboon, above. 

ae,  one,  single. 

ae,  aye,  always. 

aff ,  oil". 

ails  ye  at,  troubles  ye  at. 

ain,  own. 

aim,  iron. 

alane.  alone. 

amblit,  ambled. 

-an,  -ane,  -and,  -en,  etc.,  annexed  to 
the  definite  form  of  the  superla- 
tive of  the  adjective  (preceded  by 
the,  her,  etc.),  or  to  numerals,  or 
following  separately,  seems  to  be 
an,  one:  the  firstau,  nextan, 
firsten,  nexten,  that  sanien.  The 
history  of  this  usage  has  not  been 
made  out. 

ance,  once. 

and,  siiijerflitous,  as  in  "  when  that 
I  was  and  a  little  tiny  boy."  The 
same  usage  in  (Jerman,  Swedish, 
and  especially  Dutch  ballads. 

auld,  old. 

ava,  of  all,  at  all. 

awa,  away. 

awet,  know.  Terhaps,  await,  de- 
scry. 

awkwarde  stroke,  a  backhanded 
stroke. 

ay,  aye,  ever. 

B 

ba.  ball. 

bairn,  barn,  bern,  child. 

baith,  both. 

bale,  ill,  trouble,  mischief,  harm, 

calamity,  destruction. 
ballup,  front  or  tlap  of  breeches. 


band(e).  bond,  compact. 

barn-well,  the  well  has  no  sense, 
and  has  probably  been  caught 
from  "at  the  far  well-washing." 

basnet,  a  light  helmet,  shaped  like 
a  skull-cap. 

bedone.  worked,  ornamented.  ' 

belive,  belitie,  soon,  immediately. 

bent,  bents,  a  kind  of  coarse  grass, 
here  fields  covered  with  that 
grass. 

bide,  stay,  endure. 

bigrly  (.Icelandic,  byggiligr,  habit- 
able), commodious,  pleasant  to 
live  in,  frequent  epithet  of  bower, 
of  a  bier :  handsomely  wrought. 

billie,  comrade,  brother;  "a  term 
expressive  of  affection  and  famil- 
iarity." 

birk,  birch. 

blaw.  blow. 

blude,  bluid.  blood. 

bode-words,  messages. 

bold,  sliarp,  brisk. 

boote,  lielp. 

boots,  profits. 

bore,  hole,  crevice. 

borrow,  v.,  set  free,  deliver,  ransom. 

bot,  but.    bot  and :  see  but  and. 

boun,  bowne,  <•.,  make  ready,  go. 

boun.  bon,  bowne,  adj.,  bound, 
really.    Sec  boun,  v. 

bower,  bowr,  I'bamber. 

bracken,  braken,  breaken,  fern, 
brake. 

brae,  hillside,  hill,  river-bank.  "  Con- 
joined with  a  name,  it  denotes  the 
upper  part  of  a  country,  as  the 
lirar-s  of  Angus."    .Janiieson. 

brae,  brow. 

braid,  breadth.    A<lj.,  broad. 

braid  (broad)  letter,  either  a  letter 
on  a  broad  sheet  or  a  long  letter. 

brake,  fern. 


182 


GLOSSARY 


brand,  sword. 

brast,  burst,  broke,  broken.     • 

braw,  fine,  handsome,  finely 
dressed. 

breaken.    See  bracken. 

bree,  broth.    See  broo. 

brim,  sea.  The  brim  of  a  precipice 
may  be  meant. 

broken  men,  men  under  sentence 
of  outlawry,  or  who  lived  as  vaga- 
bonds and  public  depredators,  or 
■were  separated  from  their  clans 
in  consequence  of  crimes.  Jamie- 
son. 

broo,  water  in  which  something  has 
been  boiled. 

brotch,  brooch. 

burn,  brook. 

busk,  buss,  1.  make  ready.  2.  dress, 
deck.  3.  betake  oneself,  go. 

buss,  bush. 

but  and,  bot  and,  but  an,  and  also. 

byre,  cow-house. 


capullhyde,  horse-hide. 
care-bed,  almost,  or  quite,  sick-bed. 
carlin,  carline,  old  woman;  or  a 

wealthy  woman,  low-born  woman, 

peasant  woman. 
channerin,  fretting,  petulant. 
clame.  in-et.  of  climb, 
cleadin?,  n.,  clothing. 
cloathe,  garment. 
closs,  enclosure,  yard,  and,  before 

a  house,  courtyard ;  close. 
coffer,  trunk  or  box,  for  clothes  and 

valuables. 
corbie,  raven. 

couth,  sound,  word.    Jamieson, 
crawed,  crawn,  p.  p.  of  craw,  crow, 
cum,  pret.  of  come. 
ciirch,  curche,  kerchief,  woman's 

head  covering. 


daw,  r.,  dawn, 
dead,  deed, »(.,  death, 
deal,  distribute. 


debate,  quarrel, 

dee,  do,  be  allowed,  borne. 

dee,  do, 

deir,  dear. 

digrht,  dressed. 

dinna,  do  not. 

do  on,  put  on,  don. 

doen, betaken. 

do  to,  do  till,  with  reflexive  pro- 
noun, betake. 

dois,  does. 

dowie,  dowy,  sad,  doleful,  melan- 
choly, wretched. 

drap. drop. 

dre(e),  dri,  drie,  drye,  suffer, 
imdergo,  hold  out,  stand,  be  able. 
drie  to  feel,  be  compelled,  come 
to  feel, 

drumlie.  -ly,  perturbed,  gloomy. 

dule,  dool,  grief. 

dyke,  wall.    Sometimes  ditch. 


eare,  ere,  ayre,  heir. 

ee,  eye,    PI.  eeu. 

eir,  e'er. 

ere,  v.,  heir. 

erst,  formerly. 

even  cloth,  smooth,  with  the  nap 

well  shorn. 
eyne,  eyes. 


fa,  fall. 

fadge:    fat    fadge,    a    lusty    and 

clumsy  woman, 
fadir,  father. 
fadom,  fathom. 
faem,  foam,  sea. 
fail,  turf. 

fain'e),  glad,  pleased,  eager, 
fairlie,  farlie,  ferlie,  wonder, 
fallow  doe,  a    female   deer   of  a 

smaller  species  than  the  red  deer. 
fame,  foam,  sea. 
fare,  go  on. 

fash,  n.  and  v.,  trouble. 
fause,  false. 
fee,  wages. 


GLOSSARY 


183 


fell,  high  land,  fit  only  for  pastures, 
:i  wild  hill. 

fend,  i'.,  provide. 

ffarley,  wondrous,  strange. 

flee,  fly. 

fley,  flay,  frighten.  j)rct.,  fleed,  filed. 

flinters,  flinders,  fragments. 

forehammer,  sledge-hammer,  the 
large  hammer,  which  strikes  be- 
fore the  smaller. 

fountain  stane,  baptismal  font. 

frae.  from. 

fu,  full. 

fule,  fowl. 

G 

gae,  go.  pret.,  gaed,  ged.  pres.  p., 
gain,  gan,  etc. 

grae,  pret.  of  gie,  give . 

gallowspin.    See  pin. 

ean,  gon,  with  infinitive,  began,  did. 

grane,  p.p.  of  gae,  go. 

eangr,  go,  walk. 

ear,  make  do,  cause. 

gare,  grair,  gore,  properly,  a  trian- 
gular piece  of  cloth  inserted  in  a 
garment  to  give  width  at  that 
part;  low  down  by  his  (her)  gare, 
is  a  frequently  recurring  expres- 
sion which  may  be  taken  literally, 
down  by  that  part  of  a  garment 
where  the  gore  would  be,  low  by 
his  knee. 

earlande,  rose-earlonde,  a  circu- 
lar wreath,  apparently  hung  on  a 
wand  or  rod. 

eat,  got. 

gear,  goods,  property,  often  cattle ; 
fighting  equipments;  (silken)  gear, 
clothes, 

ged.    See  eae. 

eeid,  jirtt.  of  gie,  give. 

eie,  give,    pret.,  gied.  p.  p.,  gien. 

eier.    See  eear. 

eif,  if. 

pin,  eine,  conj.,  if. 

(Tin,  giv.-ii, 

Good,  <;o(i. 

goud.  firowd,  n.  and  mlj.,  gold. 

grouden,  growden,  golden. 


grownd,  gown. 

srraith,  v.,  make  ready.  x>-  V-t 
graithed,  equipped  in  defensive 
armor,  gowden-graithd  before 
and  siller-shod  behind,  properly, 
harnessed,  but  shod  seems  to  be 
meant  here. 

grat,  pret.  of  greet,  weep. 

ereet,  weep,  cry. 

eryte,  great. 

eude,  gruid,  eueed(e),  good. 


ha,  house,  manor-house. 

hadno,  had  not. 

hae,  have. 

halden,  held. 

hame,  home. 

haled,  drew. 

hause-bane,  neck-bone. 

hee,  he. 

hent,  caught,  took. 

herry,  harry,  pillage,  rob. 

hoUand,  holland,  linen. 

hooly,  slowly,  softly. 

hope,  expect,  think. 

houm,  level  low  ground  on  a  river- 
bank. 

hussyfskap,  husseyskep,  liouse- 
wifery(she  was  making  puddings). 


ile,  I  will. 

ilka,  ilkae,  each,  either. 

into,  in. 

ir,  are. 

I'se,  I  shall. 


jaw,  wave,  current, 
jimp,  <i(lj.,  slender,  slim, 
jow  (of  bell),  stroke. 


kail,  kale,  eolewort;  broth  made 
of  greens,  especially  of  coleworts. 
kaim,  rumb. 


184 


GLOSSARY 


keen(e),bold. 
kem,  comb. 
ken,  know. 
kirk,  kirke,  church. 
knaue,  servant. 
kye,  cows. 


lai^rli,  low,  mean. 

laird,  a  landholder,  under  the  de- 
gree of  knight ;  the  proprietor  of 
a  house  or  of  more  houses  than 
one. 

laith,  loath. 

lake,  pit,  cavity. 

lamer,  amber. 

lanff,  long, 

lap,  wrap,  roll. 

lap,  pret.  of  leap. 

late,  pret.  of  let,  allow. 

lauch,  n.,  laugh. 

lauch,  v.,  laugh. 

lav(e)rock,  lark. 

lawin(g),  tavern-reckoning. 

lear,  instruction,  learning,  informa- 
tion. 

lee,  untilled  ground,  grass  land, 
open  plain,  ground. 

leive,  leave. 

leman,  beloved. 

len,  v.,  lean. 

leven,  lawn,  glade,  open  ground  in 
a  forest. 

lightly (e),  quickly. 

.ligrhtly,  treat  with  disrespect. 

lillie,  (lea,  lee,  lie,  leven)  explained 
as  "overspread  with  lilies  or 
flowers,"  but  clearly  from  A.  S. 
leofiie,  M.  Eng.  lefly,  etc.,  lovely, 
charming. 

limmer,  a  term  of  opprobrium,  or 
simply  of  dislike ;  wretch  (m.  or 
/.),  rascal. 

linff,  heather. 

linn,  lin,  lynn(e),  water-fall,  tor- 
rent, pool  in  a  river,  especially, 
below  a  water-fall. 

lodgingr-maill,  rent  for  lodging. 

loot,  piret.  and  p.  p.  of  let,  allowed, 
allowed  to  come. 


loun,  lown,  lowne,  loon,  a  person 
of  low  rank  ;  rogue ;  often  a  mere 
term  of  general  disparagement 
(as  in  English  loun). 

low,  lowe,  hill. 

low,  flame. 

luiket,  looked. 

lyne.    See  linn. 

M 

mak,  make. 

mair,  more,  bigger. 

make,  mate,  consort. 

mane,  moan,   complaint,   lament; 

often  nothing  more  than   utter- 
ance, enunciation. 
marchandise,  dealing. 
march-man,  one  who  lives  on  the 

march,  or  border. 
marrow  (of  man  or  woman),  mate, 

husband,  wife ;   match,  equal  in 

rank,  equal  antagonist. 
mary,    marie,    marrie,    marry, 

a    queen's    lady,    maid-of-houor, 

maid  (like  abigail). 
masteryes,  make,  do  feats  of  skill, 
maun,  must. 
may,  maid. 
meal,  bag. 

meikle,  much,  great, 
micht,  v.,  might, 
meet,  straight,  even. 
middle,  waist. 
mind  o,  on,  remember, 
mony,  monny,  many, 
mot,  mote,  may. 
muckle,  meikle,  big,  much, 
muir,  moor. 

N 

na,  nae,  no,  not.  Frequently  united 
with  the  preceding  verb :  hadna. 
nane,  none. 
naethingr,  nothing. 
neir,  never. 
neist,  neisten,  next. 
nextin,  next. 
nie,  nigh. 
nourice,  nurse. 


GLOSSARY 


185 


0,  of. 

oer,  above. 

of,  couceruing. 

on,  of,  above,  to. 

ony,  any. 

or,  before. 

ousen,  oxen. 

out  of  hand,  owt  o  hand,  fortb- 

witb. 
ower,  owxe,  over,  too. 
owre,  or,  before. 


paction,  compact. 

pain,  penalty. 

pall,  fine  cloth. 

pallions,  pavilions. 

pellettes,  bullets. 

pestilett,  pistolet. 

pike,  pick. 

pin,  eallowspin,  the  projecting  or 
horizontal  l)eain  of  the  gallows 
(?).  Any  projection  upon  which 
a  rope  could  be  fastened. 

pine,  suffering,  pain. 

pitt,  put. 

pitten,  7).  p.  of  pit,  put. 

plat,  pret.  of  plet:  plaited,  inter- 
fohlud. 

prick  (e),  pj:y(c)ke,  preke,  rod  or 
wand,  used  as  a  mark  in  shoot- 
ing, prick-wand ;  a  mark  gener- 
ally. 

pu,  pull. 

Q 

querry,    quyrry,    quarry,    dead 

game. 
quite,  free,  clear,  unpunished. 


rade,  rode. 

rank,  wild,  bold,  strong,  violent; 
rude,  boisterous;  of  spirit  and 
courage,  sturdy,  rank  robber, 
one  who  robs  with  violence, 
"strong  thief." 


rawstye  by  the  roote,  rusty, 
soiled,  foul,  (with  blood)  at  the 
end  (V). 

rede,  v.,  advise. 

reed,  red. 

reft,  bereft. 

reiver,  robber. 

rin,  run. 

rive,  tear. 

round  tables,  a  game. 

row,  rowe,  roll.  jwet.  and  p.  p., 
rowed,  rowd,  rolled,  wound. 

row-footed,  rough-footed. 

rue,  cause  to  rue. 

rungr,  staff,  pike-staff. 


sae,  so. 

sair,  sore. 

sail,  shall. 

sark,  shirt,  shift. 

saut,  salt. 

scad,  scald. 

schoone,  see  shoon. 

scro&grs,  stunted  bushes,  or  per- 
haps trees ;  underwood. 

sel,  self. 

shaftmont,  shathmont,  the  mea- 
sure from  the  top  of  the  extended 
thumb  to  the  extremity  of  the 
palm,  six  inches. 

shanno,  shall  not. 

shaw,  shawe,  wood,  thicket.  See 
wode  shawe.  In  Teviotdale, 
shawe  is  "  a  piece  of  ground  which 
becomes  suddenly  flat  at  the  bot- 
tom of  a  hill  or  steep  bank." 
.Tamieson. 

sheave,  n.,  slice. 

sheen,  sheene,  sbeyne,  shining, 
bright,  beautiful. 

sheene,  n.,  brightness,  splendor. 

sheugrh,  trench,  ditch,  furrow. 

shoon(e),  shoes. 

shot-window :  the  shot-window  of 
recent  times  is  one  turning  on  a 
biiigt',  al)ove,  and  extensilde  at 
various  angles  by  mi'ans  of  a  i)er- 
forated  bar  fitting  into  a  peg  or 
tooth.      Donaldson,    Jamieson's 


186 


GLOSSARY 


Dictionary,  1882,  notes  that  in  tli« 
west  of  Scotland  a  bow-window  is 
called  an  out-shot  window.  A  bow- 
window  would  be  more  convenient 
in  some  of  the  instances. 

shradds,  coppices. 

sic,  such,  such  a. 

sick,  sicke,  such. 

sin,  since  (temporal  and  causal), 
then. 

sith,  since. 

skinkled,  sparkled. 

slack,  a  gap  or  narrow  pass  between 
two  hills ;  low  ground,  a  morass. 

slight,  demolish. 

slogan,  war-cry,  gathering  word  of 
a  clan. 

sloken,  quench. 

smock,  shirt,  chemise. 

smolderetli,  smothereth. 

southin,  southern. 

spait,  flood. 

spauld,  shoulder. 

speer,  inquire. 

spiek,  speak. 

splent  (splint),  armor  of  overlap- 
ping plates. 

stane,  stone. 

stark,  strong,  stark  and  stoor,  in  a 
moral  sense,  wanting  in  delicacy, 
rude,  violent,  or  indecent. 

stean:  Marie's  stean,  a  stone  seat 
at  the  door  of  St.  Mary's  Church. 

stear,  steer,  stir,  commotion. 

steid,  steed. 

steuen,  voice,  vnsett  steven,  time 
not  previously  fixed. 

stickit,  stabbed. 

strack,  struck. 

strake,  stroke. 

strand,  stream. 

streen,  the  streen,  yestreen,  yester 
night. 

stubborn,  truculent,  fiei-ce. 

sum,  some. 

swap,  swak  (swords,  with  swords), 
smite. 

swat,  prct.  of  swe(a)t,  swett(e). 

sweven,  sweauen,  dream. 

syke,  ditch,  trench. 

syne,  then,  afterwards,  since,  ago- 


taen,  p.  p.,  taken. 

taffetie,  fine  silk. 

tane,  the  tane,  the  tither,  tother, 
the  one,  the  other. 

tate,  tet,  tette,  lock  (of  hair,  of 
mane). 

tett.    See  tate. 

that,  so  that. 

the,  they. 

theek,  jjret.  and  p.  p.,  theekit, 
theekd ;  thatched,  roofed. 

thegrither,  together. 

thimber,  heavy,  massive. 

thrae,  through. 

threw,  pret.  of  thraw,  twisted,  in- 
tertwined. 

tift,  puff,  whifE. 

till,  to. 

to,  for. 

toom,  empty. 

to-towe,  a  strong  too. 

tree,  straight  piece  of  rough  wood ; 
crooked  tree,  bow. 

trew,  trow,  believe,  suppose. 

tul,  till. 

twa,  two. 

twain,  ('.,  part.    See  twin. 

twin,  twine,  twyne,  deprive  ;  part 
with ;  separate ;  part,  iritrans. 


under  nigrht,  in  the  night, 
until,  into,  to. 

W 

wa,  wall. 

wad,  would. 

wae,  wo. 

wae,  adj.,  unhappy. 

wame.  womb. 

wan,  dark-colored,  pallid,  colorless, 
white. 

wan,  i)/-ef.  of  win. 

war,  waur,  were. 

waran,  warrant,  sponsor  for,  se- 
curity ;  safeguard. 

wardle,  world,  wardle's  make,  see 
warld. 


GLOSSARY 


187 


warld,    world,     war  Id's    make 

word-lye  make,  world's,  eartlily, 
mate,  consort. 

warlock,  wizard. 

warst,  worst. 

wat.  wate,  wait,  watt,  weet,  wet, 
wit,  wite,  wyte,  wis,  wot,  know. 
I  wat,  wate,  a  wat,  a  wite,  etc., 
frequently  notbing  more  than  as- 
suredly, indeed,  pret., wist,  p.p., 
wist,  west. 

wat  a,  a  wat,  I  wat. 

water,  waterside,  " the  banks  of 
a  river,  in  the  mountainous  dis- 
tricts of  Scotland  the  only  inhab- 
itable parts."    Scott. 

weel,  well. 

ween,  lament. 

weet,  weit,  wet. 

wellwigrht,  very  strong,  sturdy, 
stalwart;  but.  sometimes,  brave. 

wex,  wax,  grow. 

wether  (perhaps,  whether), 
whither. 

wha,  who. 

whaten  a,  whatten,  what  sort? 
what  (in  particular)  ? 

white  money,  monie,  silver. 

wi,  with. 

wigrht,  strong;  but  also,  denoting 
bodily  activity,  brisk,  sturdy. 

wile,  vile. 


wilfull,  280,  24 :  wilful!  of  my  way, 
astray,  lost;  and  of  my  morning 
tijde  may  be  that  he  does  not  know 
the  hour,  or,  he  has  lost  his  time 
as  well  as  his  road. 

win,  make  your  way,  arrive ;  get,  go. 
prct.,  wan.    p.  p.,  won,  wan,  win. 

winna,  winne,  will  not. 

wiss,  n.,  wish. 

won,  dwell. 

won,  win,  get,  go,  come,  arrive; 
gain,  earn. 

wood  wroth,  furiously  angry. 

woodweele,  wodewale,  279,2  (MS. 
woodweete),  wood  wale,  wood- 
lark  (?).  Generally  explained  as 
woodpecker;  sometimes  as  thrush, 
red-breast. 

wow,  exclamation  of  distress,  admi- 
ration,  or  sorrowful  surprise. 

wrocken,  wroken.    p.  j).,  aveuged. 

wul,  wull,  will. 

wyle,  choose ;  also  entice. 

wylie,  wily. 


yae,  every. 
ye'se,  ye  shall. 

yestreen,  yesterday  even,  yester- 
night. 
yon,  yonder. 


Date  Due 

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i^ttham,   R.  Adelaide. 


English  and  Scottish  popular 
ballads  « 


DATE  DUE 


BORROWER'S   NAME 


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■iitham,   R.  Adelaide. 

HInrlish  and  Scottish  popular 
ballads • 


